Following on from my work in Braille I wanted to see how I could explore other ways to use non verbal communication and the disruption to language in my practice.
I have considered using Morse Code for a while and in particular to use my eyes (plural) to convey the message. I initially wanted x2 sets of eyes talking to each other across a room and that may still happen but when I was exploring different ways to actually crop and affect the practice footage I felt it was much stronger with just the one eye.
For my research I use iThoughts, this is a digital mind map and allows me to add links, notes, comments and keep a reference of everything I have looked at. It also allows me to organise my research so I can separate certain areas rather than just have a pile of reference and having to organise every time I refer back to it.
One of the first things I was asked to consider during a individual tutorial was why I felt using the eyes was, or indeed any part of the body to convey a message in Morse Code? A difficult question that I had to take a step back to think about why. I could have used a tapping foot, a clapping hand, a clicking finger or an open and closed fist... in fact I may still try some of these. However, the eyes, I felt are not just the primary organs to receive messages but take on so much more than just observing happenings, they are 'reading' a person, judging space, looking at distances, taking in body language. They are receptors but they aren't used in isolation to convey any message. They do become part of the whole act of communicating as they are expressive and add to anything being said or conveyed through action. By using them to send out Morse Code they can become transmitters of a message.
The above piece was part of a test where I wanted to see how it would work, not just as it can be seen above but also the process of recording and making. Even though it was relatively easy to translate what I wanted to say into Morse Code, actually recording it was very problematical... I wanted it to be very close, that meant a tripod, someone else helping (thank you Jo) and although I thought I could just read it from a piece a paper stuck to the camera but because I had the camera so close to my face I couldn't see it let alone read it, so Jo had to read out the dots and dashes.. which not only added another layer to the translation but also meant I had then act as she was saying them. And get it right, or we had to start each message again, which we did several times... This piece just says 'Can'
Deciding on the actual messages was quite tricky too. What did I want to say and as it was just the one eye (or pair of eyes, I hadn't decided at this point) there would be no conversation, which was the original intention and may still be something I develop it to do.
I decided to use similar messages to my Braille work and look to make statements, I used the following:
- Can you understand me?
- I am watching over you
- Can you read me?
Translating these into Morse Code I used https://morsecode.world/international/translator.html
Below is a screen shot of 'Can you understand me?' The spaces indicate the letter spacing and the dashes indicate word spaces.
You can also simply download a file to play it as a Morse Code.
Something I hadn't considered was the time it would take to blink through a message and the difference in speed that Morse Code is normally transmitted and understood at, when you listen to the WAV download it really gives you an idea of how quick it should be. I was never going to blink at this speed and although I could speed the film up I felt this would not only visually look strange it would also immediately lean towards the message being in Morse Code, which I wanted to avoid.
I have been looking at working with one of the longer messages and how I can affect the actual film. Again, I cropped in tight on just the one eye giving the look of someone overseeing the room. When I researched the single eye the phrase 'The All Seeing Eye' started to appear and then more about the 'Eye of Providence' which refers to an eye which is contained within a triangle, this has many connotations with Freemasonry but more with the 'apocryphal Illuminati, a secret group of elite individuals allegedly seeking to control global affairs.' ... 'not only does it appear on countless churches and Masonic buildings worldwide, it also features on the reverse of the American one-dollar bill as well as the Great Seal of the United States.' (https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20201112-the-eye-of-providence-the-symbol-with-a-secret-meaning). When seen like this the whole idea of a single eye overlooking everything becomes far more sinister.
On the US $1 bill, the Eye of Providence is above a pyramid of 13 steps, symbolising the original states (Credit: Alamy). (https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20201112-the-eye-of-providence-the-symbol-with-a-secret-meaning)
The divine eye in Pontormo’s Supper at Emmaus (1525) was a later repainting, hiding a three-sided face prohibited by the Counter-Reformation (Credit: The Uffizi Galleries)
(https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20201112-the-eye-of-providence-the-symbol-with-a-secret-meaning)
The single eye has been used in many ways through art as well as film, often seen as the eye of God looking down on humanity depicted with rays of light shining down with it and the idea of encapsulating it within a triangle can be seen as reference to the holy trinity of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I am not sure this is a route I am intending to follow but it could lead my thinking. The idea of Big Brother also can be a consideration and ideas of constant observation and the invasion of privacy, even if it can also be seen as a type of protection. In the article by Matthew Wilson on the BBC Culture website he quotes 'The Surrealist photographer Man Ray summarised the uncanniness of the disembodied eye best when he said that René Magritte’s The False Mirror of 1929 “sees as much as it itself is seen.” I feel this refers to when you look into someone's eye you are really looking at them, it is the most direct way to see into their soul. It also feels disrespectful to not look somebody in the eye. Make the connection. Make the bond...
I have taken one of the longer pieces of Morse Code messaging (Can you understand me?) and put together the short piece if film below. This is heavily filtered and affected intentionally to make it feel even more imposing. I need to explore the way I create these images as I take this idea forward as I may go the complete opposite and keep them very sharp. I am also considering eyes 'speaking' to each other across a room or even a bank of eyes all 'talking' together. Lots to explore.
I have had a look at how thins may be able to be displayed. I may submit this film or something similar to the 3rd Year Interim Show to see how it may look, this will inform me a lot about how I can develop the work.
Another development I have considered is using multiple eyes, almost a crowd of people talking at the same time. Whether this is screens or just a variety of visual devices of different sizes, phones, ipads, tvs, laptops... This may be something to think about at a later date but could be quite an interesting development.
