2015- ongoing, interdisciplinary
The Nautilus Shutter Experiments were initiated in early 2015 as an on-going series of experimental engagements with an opto-mechanical device. The project takes the form of a series of structured experiments (1: The Thin Blue Line, 2: True Wholes, and so on), which entail experimental research, mechanics and projection, in the form of detailed activities that explore potential drama in properties of light. The result of these engagements can take the form of installation, video work and performance. The sole aim of The Nautilus Shutter Experiments is to explore the perception of light through an apparatus that operates cinema.
2015, HD Video, 12 minutes
The creation of The Nautilus Shutter Experiments: Part 1; The Thin Blue Line involved two pieces of apparatus. One apparatus was purpose built and previously used to aid the visual tracking of a shadow with synchronicity, the second is a found object that originally belonged to an opto-mechanical device used to display motion pictures. For this work the devices were merged in an elaborate set construction to video capture a reflection of blue sky in a domestic environment. The work explores the theme of progress in relation to metanoia, or reversal of gaze, interpreting the concept of progress as a passage of time. The final work presents a single-take video capture with sound recorded from the source. The title is inspired by the design of the opto-mechanical device, which is reminiscent to a section cut of a nautilus shell. The "Nautilus" is also known as the fictional submarine piloted by Captain Nemo in the classic science fiction novel "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea", written by Jules Verne.