Final Artist Statement/Exhibition Documentation

When I first started this project I wanted to explore that strange feeling of being watched and watching back. The piece features glowing, blinking, moving eyes projected onto a 3D surface, allowing each one to seem to come alive on its own. There's something kind of eerie but also captivating about the eyes. Adding a sound reactive element was a big part of bringing this project to life because as people moved around the exhibit, the piece reacted with the sounds of them doing so. It made the piece feel interactive, like the eyes were aware of your presence and responding to it. Seeing people stop and engage with the space was really cool for me and I liked observing the almost conversational aspect between the art and the viewer. I also was lucky enough to get a room alone, so having this piece on its own allowed and almost encouraged viewers to interact with it through sound in a more drastic way. I also think the very dark room added an element of sense deprivation, making you hyper aware of feeling watched and listened to. For me, this piece was about blurring the line between what's alive and what's not. I love how it made people pause and think about perception, about what it means to look at something and feel like its looking back.