Flickering through darkness in experimental animation

Abstract

Not Always Everywhere but Always Somewhere. As part of her Master of Fine Arts in Digital Arts at the Faculty of Media and Knowledge Sciences, Department of Digital Arts (University of Malta), Nicole Pace developed an interactive installation, experimenting with a flatbed scanner to try and record darkness and light. Why this medium? And what is the message behind it? Monika Kopčilová turns the spotlight on this illuminating art. Questions about the exact nature of darkness and light have vexed physicists for years. But what does art have to say about the topic? Despite being something we experience every moment, darkness is often mislabelled as the mere absence of light. When faced with complete darkness or a very bright light, most people would say that they can’t see anything. The artist explains, ‘One might say that they cannot see anything when in a dark space, when the thing they are seeing is darkness itself.’ [excerpt]