Mitchell Clothier
Skeuomorph
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mimic their real world
Skeuomorphism is a term most often used in graphical user interface design to describe interface objects that mimic their real-world counterparts in how they appear and/or how the user can interact with them. A well-known example is the recycle bin icon used for discarding files.
A skeuomorph is an object or element that maintains aesthetic aspects of the original structures from which it was derived. Taking the spectator/the body as the subject, this artwork extends the notion of the skeuomorph into an interactive installation via the way the screen allows some light to pass through but not others. Thus, key aesthetic aspects of the body are maintained in the artwork without directly representing the body as the video might.
On entering the installation space, the only object encountered is the light mirrored by the movement of people in the space: it is their interactions that shapes the experience. The people who interact with the artwork are also being observed by other participants on the other side of the screen. This sense of being observed can create a relationship between the people on either side. The people who interact with the light cannot truly see themselves whereas the people observing can. This interaction helps to become a shared experience I am looking for in my artwork.
The human body is digitalised by software that translates motion into numbers, pixels, and ultimately light. Our body's movement is a tangible and digital representation of temporal interactions. From the beginning, the artwork has always relied on the body as a subject matter and an object. And through the skeuomorph of the human body into digital object, we see our elements in their original structure.
