Darkness and light as unphysicalities that physically condition a viewer : an exploration through visual and experiential means

Abstract

Embedded within a philosophical context, this research approaches darkness and light as unphysical entities that are able to physically condition a being. This instils an inquisitive nature in consideration of darkness and light as a dichotomy, of whether they are physical or unphysical, whether they can be captured, held or recorded. The philosophical notions are grounded in the context of Phenomenology and Existentialism, where darkness and light are visually and conceptually translated as metaphors for the human condition of temporality. The practice-based approach of this research involves a curiosity into how darkness and light behave as materials, and how materials and digital apparatus behave in the presence of darkness and light. Through such practical and contextual application, this research dissects darkness and light as absence and presence, nothing and being, obscuring and revealing, and as blackness and whiteness. The notion of darkness and light as found presences are applied equally in terms of self-concealment and self-revelation, to make the viewer see and be seen, or to entirely disappear. Such considerations allow for the development of an immersive work of art that pays equal attention to the presences and absences of darkness and light, and of the viewer. This ultimately alludes to a darkness and light which are humanly inevitable.