Camera obscured

A 'camera obscura' was a functional device adapted by early artists to provide linear perspective in painting. This functional provision of perspective eventually became a metaphor for philosophers to explore a figurative perspective of the world and how this relates to the individual's experience. Philosopher John Locke equated the mind to the camera obscura, calling it "the darkened room into which bright pictures of what lies outside must be conveyed". It was this perception and observation of the world that Locke hypothesised as that which 'supplies the understandings with all the material of thinkings.'

The piece 'Camera Obscured' seeks to take the notion Locke explored into the modern era and challenge how modern technologies begin to shape our understandings and experiences of the world. Highlighting where this simulacra afforded by new technology fits in terms of authenticity and how this technology influences the inputs of the re-created experiences.

What happens when life is constantly observed through a lens?
What happens to understanding when life is stored as a digital file versus a memory?

By exaggerating the structure of the phone, the sculpture seeks to interrupt and distort their perspective, as if the vista is permanently seen through a filtered lens. The sculpture's goal is to challenge the notion of a compulsion to store moments digitally as proof of experience against the value of being present and mindful within this current moment.