MIRROR 404
Machine vision cannot process reflections, computers weren't designed to perceive themselves.
Our oldest technology for self-perception the mirror, is invisible to our newest, the computer. For millennia, mirrors have been how we see ourselves and understand how others see us. They are poetic objects; surfaces that reveal a perception of who we are.
Contemporary life is increasingly experienced through computer-vision. Our phones, security systems, and cars all "perceive" for us, yet they remain blind to their own reflection.
-to navigate these pointclouds, use mouse/trackpad/touchscreen or WASD controls. Double-click toggles fullscreen mode-
This project engages directly with that limitation. Across two years, I scanned over fifty mirrors in natural environments using 3D reconstruction software. In these new works, shown as interactive pointclouds, we can move dynamically through and around the world, as understood by computer vision.
As we do so, we notice the foliage and landscape reconstruct accurately, but the mirrors don’t. Algorithms treat reflected light as physical space – stretching it into three dimensions, creating depth that doesn't exist.
For a full catalogue of all 50 pointclouds, please visit:
https://www.transient.xyz/exhibition/mirror-404/artworks