Hyperopia is inspired by the Crystalist artist movement in Sudan, whose 1976 manifesto states, “The crystal is nothing but the denial of the objectification of objects. It is infinite transparency.” Adopting the movement’s intent to undo contradictions between semblance and essence, the project examines the value of image decay. Utilizing matrix-based media, namely the pixel screen, patterns are exposed and recycled. The microscopic and macroscopic nature of things is shown through repetitive and indulgent scrolling, zooming, clicking and swiping, revealing fractions of cyclical patterns and infinite extensions. The work is dense with second-hand images (and third-hand images, etc.), glitch and compression techniques, and the use of the color blue. While in the analog circuit blue means no signal, it “has great potential in showing internal dimensions and depths”, and therefore “has the ability to create a Crystalist vision.” The work consists of a gallery installation and a live cinema screening.
CREDITS
Sound
Konrad Agnas: Drums
Ali Hout: Riq Drum
Haniel Hout: F La Serena, Hamsa Handpan Drum & G Pygmy, Rav Vast Drum
Mena El Shazly: Rainstick
George Rahi: Birdsong Machine
Alex Abahmed: No input mixer w/guitar pedals & Tabla
Meredith Bates: Violin
Alex Abahmed: Sound mixing and mastering
Mena El Shazly: Live analog editing and mixing
Calla Paleczny: Videographer (bathroom scenes)
Ghazal Majidi: AI generated macroverse scene
Microscopic Images
Crystals on plant cuticle: Samuels lab
Drimys winteri leaf (up and low): Zhonghang (Daisy) Zhang, PhD student, Dr. Reinhard Jetter lab,
Tetraphis pellucida, Sphagnum capillifolium, Plagiomnium insigne, Polytrichum commune: Drew Hall, PhD student, Dr. Anne Lacey Samuels lab,
Department of Botany, University of British Columbia.
Text
Ferdinand Klüsener, Letter correspondence, 2023
The Crystalist Manifesto, Al-Ayyam newspaper, 1976
Special thanks
Laura U. Marks, Miwa Matreyek, Noé Rodriguez, Anne Lacey Samules, Anneka Lenssen, Lauraine Mak, Douglas Watt, Adham Zidan, Kristen Roos.
MENA EL SHAZLY 