Chelsea

Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Eye Contact, (detail), 2006, Lambda print, Video with LCD screen, Edition of 5, 60 �� 40 inches

Lozano-Hemmer's work taps into the technology of data-networks, robotics, sensors, cell phones, projections and other custom-made devices to create "connective, participatory experiences," in which several realities co-exist. Playful, yet always provocative, his installations have been praised for creating platforms for group experience rather than individual interfaces for solitary participation.

Shown for the first time, Close up and Third Person are part of the Shadow Box series that builds up on Lozano-Hemmer's concepts developed in Under Scan, and in which passers-by activate portraits in their own shadows. Each of the pieces features a high resolution, 30-inch diagonal, interactive display, made of steel and black anodized aluminum and including a built-in computerized tracking system. Close up creates the viewer's image with hundreds of tiny videos of other people who have recently looked at the work. When a viewer approaches, the system automatically makes a video. Up to 800 recent recordings are simultaneously triggered inside the viewer's silhouette, suggesting a schizoid experience where people's image sets off a massive array of surveillance videos. In Third Person, the interactive display draws the viewer's portrait in real time with hundreds of tiny words, which are all the English and Spanish verbs conjugated in the third person. In addition to these two pieces, the exhibition will include a video of Lozano-Hemmer's critically acclaimed, large-scale public art installation, Under Scan, along with Under Scan Portraits (Lambda print), and a book of signature of the 800 people who participated in this project.

ARTIST'S TALK: Tuesday, September 12, 7pm (reservations: 212-366-6959)

Image from Bitforms Gallery.