Duck/Rabbit Lloyd Smith
Contents
Preface The ‘Project’ Initial Ideas / Planning The Double ‘In Loving Memory’ Exhibition Words TheARTe Liminal Space Extracts From Research Report
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Preface
For me the mirror is a fascinating place – I use the term ‘place’ as I like the idea of the physically inaccessible space a mirror suggests being breached. Duck / Rabbit presents the opportunity to be within this non-existent, somewhat ‘heterotopia’, space in the here and now. But of course by being presented with access to this space, our reflection becomes absent. We can never see ourselves in both places simultaneously – similarly to our experience of the democratic ‘Duck or Rabbit?’ optical illusion, in which we can never perceive both states posed at the same time. I think it’s funny that in searching for ourselves in the absent reflection, we instead become completely more aware of ourselves. Nothing makes you as self-aware as nothing.
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The ‘Project’
I see the title Duck / Rabbit as more of a project title as opposed to a single piece of work. It is a series almost, featuring individual episodes. The piece is a forever changing installation, a continuous work in progress – evolving with different contexts, various interests that arise or realisation of significance in objects/things. Acceptance of a constant dissatisfaction in the scene that is created either side of the ‘mirror’ allows room for play. In a sense, the work could be compared to a painting, which has room for constant addition.
What quantifies a finished piece of work? It’s a question that I often ask myself as a learning artist. In fact, does it ever need to be finished? I like this idea – just as a work can sometimes not be realised, a work can also not be finished. It could also be compared to our perception and layers that might support this. For example, as we experience and develop knowledge and understanding of something, our perception of it is liable to change. We may never perceive the same thing twice. I think the idea of having a piece of work that is always changing, may allow for Walter Benjamin’s concept of ‘aura’ to apply. The ‘one-timedness’ he discusses will be relevant as the piece will rarely be seen the same, or at least if it is it will most likely be perceived in a different way due to a change in context.
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Initial Ideas / Planning
The Double
The term ‘seeing double’ is often associated with the frightening; the visual information being received is going against our understanding of what is ‘real’. That’s not to say visual sameness cannot be embraced and enjoyed. It’s a curious topic. I think we underestimate the common nature of the double in our everyday lives. I guess it doesn’t have to be so literal. That moment of confusion that wipes over us when we have just experienced dejavu, each morning when we look in the mirror before leaving the house, each day we use the same spelling of a word which can be spoken in completely different ways and even every night whilst sleeping our unconscious dreams seem to double our reality. We are surrounded by duplication, and even more unnervingly, there is always the idea of a ‘doppelganger’. I recently discovered a myth that suggests there is an average of seven people in the world that look identical to you. I’m not sure how much I believe of this, but with over 7 billion people in the world it doesn’t seem impossible. That idea of cloning is horrifying, but with science and technology making such rapid increases it can’t be too long before cells and genetics can be reproduced (which further still, are examples of the double).
a state where we can become completely more aware of ourselves – where we can discover a presence in the absence. With the suggestion of a reflective mirror surface in Duck/Rabbit, it presents a dislocation from the renowned understanding of a mirrors function. The illusory mirror seemingly reflects everything the audience member is amongst, except themselves. The loss of place creates a curious desire and intrigue to delve into the space of otherness. A place similar to that which Alice found by looking into the mirror in Lewis Carroll’s 1871 Novel ‘Alice through the Looking Glass’. What will be discovered through my illusory mirror lacks the world of fantasy Alice found herself in; instead the partaker will be presented with an exact symmetrical reverse of the space they have just left. If you stand side-on at one particular point it is possible that you could feel to be in both spaces at exactly the same time, but only to realise the idiosyncratic nature that each half of our bodies demonstrate.
As humans we seem to have an innate visual attraction to the double. When presented with two objects/things/ideas of exact sameness or at least what Freud would describe as ‘uncanny’ likeness, we cannot help but be curious. I guess it figures as we are created from genetic pairing and our bodies are equipped with an echo of this pairing – our legs, arms, hands and even the eyes being used to read this. If we were to be split vertically down the middle, the almost symmetrical nature of our bodies could be seen. According to Annette Michelson, Andy Warhol stated, “I don’t want it to be essentially the same – I want it to be exactly the same. Because the more you look at the same thing, the more the meaning goes away, and the better and emptier you feel.” In Duck/Rabbit the simplicity of the objects allows the duality to create an experience of nothingness, and thus draws attention to one self as they perceive. The objects might hold great significance of their own, but placed in a context where they are being replicated exactly creates a moment of required judgment from the audience – a moment to differentiate, or perhaps a moment to ignore and focus on themselves. In the book ‘Nothing’ (2001) Graham Gussin discusses the idea of repetition leading into a state where “nothing is distinguishable”. Perhaps 8
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The Double
The inability to be in both spaces simultaneously, or at least see one self in both spaces, is extended by the additional performance featuring two identical twins. Identical twins have become a topic of fascination for me, and although I don’t want to touch on the massive subject area of identity too much in my work, I can’t help but be curious of the enigmatic nature of twinning. The near impossibility to differentiate between a pair of identical twins creates a feeling of wander and somewhat awe, but that is not to say they are literally ‘identical’. John Lamb Lash states in ‘Twins and the Double’ 1993 that identical twins “embody the trick proposition of errant near-symmetry”, perhaps similar to each half of our body if it were to be split vertically down the middle. Experience of such close sameness can project us into a moment of confusion, questioning which of the dual is ‘real’ or to take this further, what we have witnessed is actually ‘real’. The addition of a live performance adds an element of theatricality to the piece. In a video where Damien Hirst is seeking identical twins to feature as part of a show at the Tate Modern in 2010, he comments “there’s a lot of theatre in art, it’s always good when you can confront someone with something real”. The inclusion of a human being in the artwork can create a sense of the real, as the audience are sharing the same time and space as the piece. Hirst appeared to use the addition of identical twins as a way of implying the apparent sameness that might be seen in his spot paintings, even though they are visually different. I am using the performance as an addition to question our experience of art. The unannounced entrance of two identical twins to the space creates an illusion in itself, is it really happening in that moment in time?
‘real’, I am left only to be curious. I think that might be my interest in the idea of the double right there, we can seek to find which of the posed states is ‘right’ or ‘real’, such as in the optical illusion ‘Duck or Rabbit?’, but all we are left with is in-conclusion. It is an infinitely insoluble cycle of mystery left to individual interpretation and belief.
The Freudian concept of ‘The Uncanny’ illustrates a feeling of familiarity, yet strange alienation we can experience when confronted with the double. It is fascinating that the feeling can throw us with such force, even though we are presented with different modes of ambiguity each and every day. I often have the feeling each time I visit a particular field near where I grew up. I see the exact same field in two completely different ways, even though it always holds the same visual information. It makes no sense to me. It makes me wonder if there is something more creating the double effect, something in the mind – perhaps a state of the unconscious. I guess it is possible that I could have dreamt about the field and been aware of it being that place, but seen it in a slightly altered way. That would offer an alternative. In a desperate attempt to conclude which of the perceptions is 10
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‘In Loving Memory’ Exhibition
Between April the 2nd and April the 5th 2014, an episode of Duck/Rabbit featured as part of an exhibition at Stew Gallery, Norwich. It was the first chance for a public glimpse of the installation, featuring a ‘mirror’ frame and duplicated objects – leaning wooden chairs, hanging velvet curtains and reversed caution tape. It was exciting to see the interactive nature I had intended in the piece unfolding before my eyes. It reassured me of the theatricality that can be experienced within the installation.
Over the last 3 years we have grown as artists and a community, some of us have shown together in our first exhibitions, some of us have shared studios over consecutive years and so it seems fitting we close on a final exhibition together. This is a farewell and good luck shared amongst the 12 artist involved and the incredible atmosphere that has been generated by the com- munity of the university. This exhibition is simply a collection of friends and artist that wish to share one last parting show before the formality and magnitude of a degree show, a show that will for all of us forever be held in loving memory. 12
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Words
TheARTe
I believe there is an expectation within an art practice to develop work in preparation for an exhibition, which is exactly what the current unit is based around. I am in the midst of preparation for a Degree Show, a sort of final exhibition to demonstrate an outcome for many years of study. Even without the necessity of the exhibition, there is the presentation of documentation as a means of display. There is always some sort of lead up to a ‘show’ of work produced/ideas. This notion has developed an interest in theatricality in art for me. I can’t help but agree with the writings of Michael Fried, in that “theatre is now the negation of art”. Of course these writings from ‘Art and Objecthood’ date back to 1998, but the ideology still remains completely relevant in contemporary art hitherto. In Fried’s argument he proposed that Minimalism, or Literalist Art as he describes it, shared the same properties as theatre in that it literally included the beholder, whereas Modernist Art, popular at the same time as Minimalism, was its outright enemy. Within the piece Duck/Rabbit I am highlighting the authentic value of experience, the requirement of a partaker as a means of completion. Without the audience present in the same time and space as the work, there is no ‘show’. This is arguably the case for any piece of art, as it must need to be seen to be experienced? Of course many artworks – paintings, sculptures, film works and some installations can be viewed through documentation. This is not to suggest that I agree with that, I value the experience of any artwork integral disregards of the required audience inclusion. Duck/ Rabbit becomes far more effective with an audience member present; this is enhanced by the additional performance within the work. The unannounced nature of the performance offers a seemingly ‘real’ version of an otherwise illusory show. Theatre shows are often a rehearsed fiction with the intent to entertain, I guess the arrival of the identical twins shares the rehearsed value, but the intention is for them to appear as just another member of the audience. They are a subtle reminder to the audience that anyone can be a part of the ‘show’ I have created. The installation becomes both a stage for an audience to watch and a stage to be on.
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Liminal Space
The nature of the space for the degree show version of Duck/Rabbit is complimentary of the work itself. With no preconceptions of the piece, only an initial glimpse through the pane of glass on the parallel fire doors can give the audience a hint of expectation. Even with this, the darkened conditions of the room restrict any instant visual recognition. The audience are held in a liminal space, awaiting the curious unknown to unfold.
The placement of the ‘mirror’ frame offers an alternative walk through for the audience, an alternative that might require a hand to lead the way to check for a pane of glass. By interacting in such a way, the partaker becomes an ‘actor’ as part of the show. Other on-lookers within the room become an audience to them. In this sense, the interactive nature of the piece illustrates a continually transforming cast and audience of the show.
The fire doors are parallel, creating a walkway through the exhibition space. Adjacent to this, is Duck/Rabbit, filling the alcove space with an illusory mirror and a collection of duplicated found objects. The objects are representational to that of which might be found in the backstage of a theatre, which adds a sense of waiting at a point of threshold. At what point of the show is this? The ‘mirror’ frame itself is included in these objects, but through its placement becomes a pivotal theatrical device of illusion in the piece. It offers a transformation from backstage to the other side – the stage. It brings a theatrical element from the duration of the show to the backstage space, a place where the guard is usually down. I guess I want to expose this ‘real’ space, the space that is dislocated from the show.
The only two definitely known cast members to feature are the performing identical twins. Although this inclusion is rehearsed, it is unannounced to the audience. Entrance at exactly the same time may go unnoticed and may be seen as a co-incidence, but it shouldn’t take long for people to begin to realise that there are identical twins present. I guess I want people to question, is this really happening in this moment? Have they become an audience member of a live show? Or are there just two identical twins visiting the exhibition and becoming an audience to Duck/Rabbit? The performance is adding to the facade that might be witnessed on stage, but bringing it into the backstage – a place of honest ‘realness’. To support this concept, the performers share the same ‘real’ time and space as an audience. Of course like every show the performance has to come to an end, and the identical twins exit the space simultaneously, but an imprint is left through the interpretation of the audience present. They are left waiting, perhaps expecting more? It’s unknown; it’s a liminal space.
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Extracts From Research Report
‘It is inadvertently difficult to accept that we have been fooled by an illusion; somewhat more difficult to understand how we can be deceived by the very same illusion repeatedly. The democratic illusory image of ‘Duck or Rabbit?’ which, according to E.H.Gombrich, featured in ‘Die Fliegenden Blatter’ clearly demonstrates the ambiguity our visual perception is faced with in the everyday. Even once our brain has been informed by our eyes of the alternative readings we are still, and will remain, unable to experience both readings at the same time. The image seems to highlight the huge philosophical problem of questioning our perception of reality. We can make an attempt to decide which of the states posed we can see, but this seems to be resolved through opinion. Similarly each person’s understanding of reality may slightly differ, making it difficult to make a conclusive judgement and accept each view at the same time.’
‘Perceiving individual parts in consecutive order may raise some opposition to Gestalt psychology, as seeing the whole seems to be inconceivable. Or perhaps parallel to the methodology of how Merleau-Ponty understands the Muller-Lyer illusion, the holistic perception of the ‘Duck or Rabbit?’ image is that it is actually neither animal – but simply an ambiguous drawing. There is no physicality to suggest that it is either animal, only implication due to the detail of the drawing and our preconceptions making us see what we believe to be a duck or a rabbit. This is possibly a desperate attempt to seek certainty in an inconclusive ambiguous illusion, or even an unnecessary requirement for explicit information to title the illusion. Or maybe seeing the image as a whole can relate to how we might see the bigger and holistic picture to answering questions of what we understand to be reality. Both the ‘Duck or Rabbit?’ illusion and our belief of reality are seemingly inconclusive. Making an attempt to answer the illusion by suggesting it is neither, saying that it is simply a drawing portraying both, could be a means for approaching an answer to our understanding of reality. We might find some resolution in saying that the actuality of all proposed beliefs is that it is unanswerable - insoluble.’ 20