SHOW ONE
RORY DONALDSON & JAMES RAVINET
-EVENT-
DATES
28th November— 14th December 2013
PRIVATE VIEW
28th November 2013
6.30pm — 9.30pm
OPENING TIMES
Tuesday 12pm — 6pm
Saturday 12pm — 6pm
Sunday 12pm — 5pm
www.jamesravinet.com
The work reacts to concerns set out by LEM's Light Salon, instated by the use of a Hypnagogic Light Machine that was present in the space for the duration of the show. In the beginning, the eye is met with a gentle wash of soft clear white light that is perhaps a gentle signal of the visual plane you are about to transcend within. The ineptitude of being unable to describe what happens beyond this, through the medium of text, could not be more pertinent. However, it is one that nonetheless imparts a profound sense of responsibility in translating this visual convergence of information, to others. This seems all the more prominent in face of knowing that there exists no means to validate exactly what we have seen to one other, for it is observed solely in the realms of a mental image.
An image that is entirely absent from the tactility of our senses, and bearing no physical affirmation. The source of this is no mystery. A seemingly subtle object, it poses as a lamp that emits both cold and hot stroboscopic light from a series of LED lights. The status of this is clear in its configuration with software that determines the behaviour of these light sources that are subsequently shone onto the subjects face. However, central to the prognosis of the light machine is it’s ability to license us with an authorship in the visual configuration it facilitates, but one that is invariably different for each person. It is for this reason that the imagery that I refer to here is only stated as a descriptive anecdotal reference. The mental image is a constant trajectory of movement. Comparative to the floating guide of an infinite tracking shot, a plain of detailed abstraction suddenly clouds vision. There is perhaps a brief momentary pause in the comprehension and grandeur of what is to be seen. A consortium of transition visuals ensues. Shapes, forms, structure, depth, texture and layers form intermittently amongst a catharsis of colour and light. In a state of constant change and modulation, these forms fracture and bleed into one another. At times, it is interspersed with moments of apparent clarity that then draws back into the abstraction and autonomy of how this image is conceived. For instance, an architectural structure rises from this, instating sudden clarity as a recognisable form that makes visual sense. However, upon further examination, the form is of an irregular perspective that would be impossible as a natural form. This attempt of mindful de-abstraction serves as a significant reference in understanding the level of consciousness during this experience.
