IKARUS

.As part of the huge Mars and Beyond event at Bargehouse, OXO Tower on the South Bank, I was invited to create IKARUS, a installation/imagining of a craft of the future that carried its passsengers to distant worlds powered by a shared dream of stars.
.This used immersive stereoscopic technology (The Disinhibitor) I had developed for an earlier installation Memories Can’t Wait in 2015. Wearing a pair of 3D glasses, visitors entered a space filled with 3D projections that would create the illusion of entering an alien and fantastical space in which they appeared to float amongst infinite moving stars.
.The show ran from 20 February to 15 March 2020.

 

..Here’s a short video giving a taster of IKARUS

 

The Tree That Blinked at Light.Move.Fest

.In 2019 The Tree That Blinked was selected for Light.Move.Fest in Łódź, Poland – a festival that annually draws 800,000 people! It was a big success.

A couple contemplate The Tree That Blinked during setup the day before the opening.
Click any image for an expanded view.

Click any image for an expanded view.

 

Here’s a video of The Tree That Blinked in Singapore (2 mins)

And a video (4 mins) of the first presentation at Gallery 286, London
with audience reactions.

.

Platform

A Stereo 3D filmed installation running in a continuous loop of 8 hours.

Click any image for an expanded view.

Platform is being created using a high-speed camera and later modified to create full stereoscopic 3D – a technique I have been developing for several years. It stretches time, and adds a third dimension, transforming an everyday setting into a mysterious world of living 3D statues, and revealing a hidden beauty inaccessible to those present at the time.

Each section has its own content and tone depending on who is present on that day or evening. A hot summers’ day will yield something very different from Halloween. Choice of lens and exposure also add a ‘look’. The process is a little random (which is challenging and fun) and requires some skill and vision to mould into a finished piece.

Platform begins at Edgware Road tube station, and takes 8 hours to follow the Circle Line around back to Edgware Road again. This journey normally takes 40 minutes. The piece is edited to form a continuous loop.

To me Platform suggests both an apalling transience to our lives whilst paradoxically hinting at something more enduring.

Here in Stereoscopic 3D.
Click any image for an expanded view.

 

Using this technique, a 10 minute segment, Platform 6, was shot on Halloween 2017. Meant only as a test, it has since taken on a life its own, winning Best 3D at the New Media Film Festival, LA!

Amother segment, Notting Hill, is in competition at SD&A, San Fransisco, January 2020.

Platform 6 and Notting Hill are available for screenings, and need 3D projection and glasses.
Some info and stills – here

 .

Platform 6

Platform 6 was shot over one evening on the North London Line.

Platform 6 is part of a larger filmed installation, Platform, a endless loop of 8 hours. This segment was shot on Halloween and meant only as a test, but has since taken on a life its own, such as winning Best 3D at the New Media Film Festival in LA.

Platform is created using a high-speed camera modified to create full stereo 3D – a technique I have been developing for several years. The process stretches time, and adds a third dimension, transforming an everyday setting into a mysterious world of living 3D statues, and revealing hidden beauties inaccessible to those present at the time.

Each part is different in content and tone depending on what is happening on that day or evening. A hot summers’ day will yield something very different from Halloween. Choice of lens and exposure also add a ‘look’. The process is a little random (which is challenging and fun) and requires some skill and vision to mould into finished pieces later.

To me the Platform suggests both an apalling transience to our lives whilst paradoxically hinting at something more enduring.

Here in Stereo 3D. Click to view images in a larger window.

Platform 6 was created over the evening of Halloween 2017.
It has been screened at:

The London Sci-Fi Film Festival
EXP Gallery, Hackney, London
Art in Flux, Ugly Duck Gallery, London
LA 3-D Film Festival, LA
SD&A, San Francisco
New Media Film Festival, LA (winner, Best 3D)
EVENT TWO, Royal College of Art, London
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
More to come…

 .

ARTiculAction magazine interview

Interview with Karel Bata in ARTiculAction magazine.
Click on image to open in fresh window.

..

The Tree That Blinked at Singapore Night Festival

Click on any image to expand

.
This is quite mystical. In some parts of Asia, we believe there are spirits which reside in trees. Here, the British artist Karel Bata marries the persona of the tree with the portraits of people who had inspired him. Look closely at the details as the projections are set against the tree… then watch as it blinks and morphs into another face. Ingenious.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – — – –– David Sucha, Life’s Tiny Miracles

The one that did catch my attention was The Tree that Blinked. This ghostly display uses spotlights to form a person’s face on a large Banyan Tree, which then blink and change every now and then. …the face literally pops out at you the moment you shift into the correct viewing spot. I found this to be very, very smart.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – — – –– The Scribbling Geek

My favourite of the whole festival however was The Tree That Blinked. It was amazing in so many ways, but the symbolism behind it was subjective which meant different meanings could come from this animated projection.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – — – – Kara Bertoncini, The AU Review

.
In 2017 Singapore Night Festival celebrated their 10th anniversary with 600,000 visitors. They had seen my earlier work and asked me to create something around their century-old Banyan tree to celebrate its antiquity. I was happy to oblige with my installation The Tree That Blinked.

It is a series of digitally manipulated portraits projected into an old Banyan tree in which I trigger and explore the mystery and myths that form such a large part of our perception of woodlands. The work moves and shifts as the leaves are blown in the wind, so facial expressions seem to change too and the faces appear to undergo transformations of age and identity. Blended with real movements in the faces, and subtle morphs from face to face, this provides a compelling illuison of something alive within the tree, of spirits within.

This was first shown in embryonic form at Gallery 286 in London. At the time viewers referenced childhood stories or experiences of mysterious forests and strange creatures, and even ideas of layered consciousness. Some saw the tree as benign. I have taken these comments on board, and the piece has grown with these ideas.

Click for video (2 mins)

Some stills (Click any image to see a larger version)

The audience loved it!

A video (4 mins) of The Tree That Blinked first presentation at Gallery 286
with audience reactions.

.

Platform 1

 

Platform 1, Hackney 2017

An installation of projected stereoscopic ‘living statues’.

At the core of Platform 1 is a series of Stereo 3D ‘living statues’ of rail passengers captured with a high-speed camera and frozen mid-gesture as we move past them.
This is then processed later to create a Stereo 3D image. It is part of a larger filmed installation, Platform, that runs for 8 hours. More information – here

Platform 1 is an istallation that evolves with the physical particularities of the venue it is in. The piece uses a large Stereo 3D screen made from non-standard projection material (such as a builder’s sheet!) giving a sense of the piece organically sited in its setting. It is presented using an innovative system using two 4k projectors that give an unusually bright 3D image.

Platform 1 is suited to a large space, but is very adaptable, and can be presented more simply, or in a smaller space, using a conventional 3D TV screen.

Platform 1 was first presented at EXP Hackney, London, November 2017.
It was shown again during Art in Flux at Ugly Duck Studios, June 2018.

The Tree That Blinked

 –Click any image to enlarge

The Tree That Blinked is a projection-mapped self-portrait toying with notions of identity, representation, and transformation.

The work moves and shifts as the leaves of the tree move with the wind. The expression thus seems to change, and the face appears to undergo changes of age.

The illusion can be compelling. Some folks think the leaves have been individually painted. Others that the tree must have been trimmed to the shape of my head!

Trying to give the work any specific ‘meaning’ is elusive, perhaps even pointless, as viewers bring their own strong personal interpretations. Generally they reference ideas of layered consciousness, and childhood stories of journeys into the forest. Some see it as actively benign, and The Wizard of Oz is frequently mentioned. Somewhere between these interpretations lies some kind of meaning…

It was first shown at Jonathan Ross’s Gallery 286 as part of an exhibition of self-portraits (he does have the perfect garden) and received an enthusiastic reception captured here by videographer Viral Mistry:

Click to play video: The Tree That Blinked

With Jonathan Ross at Gallery 286

The Tree That Blinked was staged as part of the Canary Wharf’s 2014
Winter Lights spectacular, outside One Canada Square.

 

It was a major part of Singapore Night Festival

There is a blog about the Singapore installation here –
The Tree That Blinked at Singapore Night Festival (WordPress)

And here it is at Light.Move.Fest in Łódź, Poland
Blog – The Tree That Blinked in Łódź

.

Note to arts curators:
The installation needs a suitably shaped tree, along with very low ambient light – ideally total darkness, where it is amazing (really!).
The projector needs to be just above head height, and as close to the eye-line of the visitors as possible. As you move away the effect breaks up, but this works in its favor when as you approach the tree there comes a point where visitors suddenly ‘see’ a face! The video shows that.
This installation only works after sunset, and many trees lose their foliage each year. In the UK this limits usage to autumn, though it will work well on a suitably-shaped Christmas tree.
At Gallery 286 we used my own 4K lumens projector. At Canary Wharf 6K. At Singapore 18k. And in Łódź 21k. The level of ambient light is the biggest factor determining the power required.
Once installed this can be left running. Power can be switched off to the whole set-up during the day, and my custom media player will boot from cold when powered-up. Someone just has to switch it on and off.

.

Seen and Not Seen

Seen and Not Seen was a projection mapping installation created at Studio 308, Greenwich in September 2013.

Click any image to enlarge.

Here is a 3 minute video record: https://vimeo.com/81094390

During the event visitors were led into the studio in total darkness guided by LEDs to stand in front of a ‘welcome’ sign. The show then consisted of projections on to a screen and on to masks suspended by fishing-line which gave the illusion of faces floating in space.

I’ve always had a deep affection for the Talking Heads song. It may be about someone who seems a bit unhinged, but the themes are pretty deep. On the surface it’s about appearances – about how we superficially look. But underneath lie our anxieties about how we present ourselves to others, and are perceived by them.

The challenge with creating a video of a performance staged in darkness is that you’re forced to show the smoke and mirrors. During the performance the audience stands in the dark and you hide as much as possible from them. The video has to do the opposite. If you were to just record what the audience saw it wouldn’t make a lot of sense to the viewer. Without some context it would appear to be just faces appearing and disappearing against a black background: the viewer, unlike the audience, is not there to experience the magic of it happening around them.

This is common with other videos documenting Projection Mapping installations. They will show the site – perhaps a building – during the day, and then show the performance at night. Without this there is nothing by which to judge scale and tell what’s going on – the show would lack impact. In short, you have to show how it’s done, and do so at the outset.

This project took a lot of work, but I’d love to do it again, and I have several ideas for other subjects and approaches.

– Click any image to enlarge.

.

Out Of Darkness (Virtual Light 1)

A Projection Mapping installation staged at the Phoenix gallery in Brighton as part of the Painting With Light event in December 2014.

The piece creates an illusion of a light moving around inside the room and somehow illuminating it. However there is only the one projector, and the effect of this presence / absence is disjointing. Some see it as creepy, some as beautiful, but few are left unimpressed.

  Click here to play the video: Out of Darkness

note: The live piece is creamy white and free from any of the flicker or artifacts visible in the video. The music was added for this edit. The piece itself is silent.

This installation has been shown at Painting With Light, London Decompressed (Burning Man), Gallery 286, Art in Flux, EXP Hackney.

.

.

Note to arts curators:
Much of Out Of Darkness can be prepped off-site. But because the specific geometry of any venue it is important here that the final assembly and filming needs to be done on site. Providing that rigging the projector is straightforward, this usually takes half a day.
The venue does not have to be blacked out, but the darker it is the better.
I would welcome the opportunity to create a much larger version of this!

.