Afterimage

Entoptic phenomena known as 'Afterimage'

Being DigitalCommunication

In Afterimage, we examine new aspects of visual experience, particularly in the context of the rise of Artificial Intelligence and mind-video technology. We focus on mental images that are not readily communicable, such as the entoptic phenomena known as 'Afterimage'.

Additionally, we will explore the subtleties of human perception and the aesthetics of visual experience.

We live in a digital age of using tools to share our experiences via social media, instagram posts, in a fast paced manner. However, entoptic phenomena are not such a shared experience. Our project involves Trataka exercises, an ancient form of meditation, as a way to generate and view afterimages. This technique involves candle light in a dark room in which we gaze at the candle and close our eyes to access these afterimages which can take various forms.

We draw and share these experiences within our group and interpret each others in a slow meditative and intimate manner.

Ana Domingues

Digital Direction (MA)

Fabia – Trataka afterimag

Hester – Trataka afterimage

Inbal – Trataka afterimage

Michelle – Trataka afterimage

Ana – Trataka afterimage

Hester's interpretation of Fabia's afterimage – “Blue in the middle, purple outside, figure in the middle, dark blue figure with purple flame hair and it’s gone now… Pink line, blue… like outline and it’s blue around it and pink aura diffusing out the black. Horned figure back again, dark blue with pink flame coming out of their head and then there’s nothing.” Fabia Martin

Inbal's interpretation of Michelle's afterimage – “There’s kinda a faint orangey/peachy colour going down and theres the like the same yellow line every two centimetres long with a red ball going down again. It’s kinda a lime green in the middle with a yellow around it and a faded orange surrounding it. It’s very small. Honestly, it looks like sperm. There’s like a little bit of green - like a green outline... it’s just there and now turning green. Yeah, just looks like a little creature. That’s it.” Michelle

Michelle's interpretation of Ana's afterimage – “This time it’s green, a green explosion: there’s a weird shape, it’s also elliptic... rising… now it’s fully magenta and pink - a red bottom and red top and it’s not perfect - it’s more like a torch. Lots of purple light around it and then again the black strong outline. The purple is just a haze. There’s no particular animation, it’s just a presence of light. It’s becoming really, really dark. The dark outline becoming stronger and stronger… Then it’s rising. Orange and green..." Ana

Ana's interpretation of Hester's afterimage – “A really long, vertical, blurred bright yellow with green on the outside and then it became like a big bulbous bit in the bottom which was like a rich purple colour. It keeps going from thin to fat at the base... like a sort of flower bulb, or something, and it’s got this black outline that goes down below the bulbous base into another fat line. It’s got a white centre, pink bottom, orange top. Sort of looks like an onion..." Hester

Fabia's interpretation of Inbal's afterimage – “Now I see a big ball of blue, shinny blue, like a little dot of dark blue and black in the middle. Almost like fire-orange and red becomes pinky but it goes up and it’s like something came from the sky, and goes down and down and takes this ball down with it. The ball is becoming smaller and smaller, now it’s starting to fade. And the fire is turning to this black, shiny, with yellow and orange sides, like a ball of fire that’s disappearing. A black storm like a goldfish..." Inbal

Afterimage

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