EYES OF THE SKIN II

Eyes of the Skin II, is a second interactive performance between choreographer Jennifer Salk and Maja Petric that explores concepts of tenderness and fragility. The project was commissioned by Henry Art Gallery in Seattle and installed across all 3 floors of the Gallery (40000 square feet/3720 square meters).

As viewers entered the Henry Art Gallery, they experienced an audio-visual installation in interaction with dance in the interstitial spaces such as hallways, stairwells, elevators, and ramps, creating a sense of vulnerability, playfulness, intimacy, fragility, and cruelty. This led to the main space, Stroum Gallery, where a large wall was converted into an interactive environment. The wall surface was made to appear as if it progressively "cracked", revealing another world through the openings in the wall. To achieve this, Petric covered the surface of the wall with a material that was gradually ripped by dancers or gallery visitors. Once the surface was ripped, it became an opening into the other world. 

To achieve this effect, Petric used custom video mapping software developed by computer scientist Hrvoje Benko. The software recognized openings in the wall and projected moving images of the ethereal world in those areas. When dancers or visitors closed the wall openings, the image would no longer be visible.

*Title of the dance performance is inspired by Juhani Pallasmaa’s book Architecture and the Senses: The eyes of the skin.

Exhibited: Henry Art Gallery, Seattle, WA, USA
Year: 2012
Materials: LED lights, IR lighting, camera, video, projection, muscle wire, custom software, paper, phosphorescence paint, joint compound
Credits:
Light and Video Art Installation Artist: Maja Petric
Video Mapping Software: Hrvoje Benko
Dance Choreography: Jennifer Salk
Stage Designer: Amiya Brown
Stage Manager: Monique Courcy
Light Board and Assistant
Stage Manager: Esmeralda Valenzuela