About

C L O S E R THAN EVER

C L O S E R THAN EVER is a project developed to address the influence of visual technology on human relationships. Local artists are paired with artists who live and work in other countries, to collaborate and produce original artwork using visual technology as their primary means of communication. In many cases these artists have never met, in some cases they are well acquainted.

The photographic medium has expanded and democratized to bring us ‘closer than ever’ - to alien environments, and to each other. The first satellite images (a 35mm film camera on a V-2 missile) in 1946 provided a glimpse into the camera’s potential to locate ourselves within the world’s greater scheme. On a more personal level, the first known publicly shared picture via mobile phone occurred as late as 1997 and now we enjoy video chats on our mobile phones, marveling at cameras that can ‘see’ around corners. The camera’s scaling presence has tremendous influence on social modalities and the way we perceive ourselves and our surroundings.

Today, much of our experience occurs in conjunction with a visual record, revealing the camera as a tool of immense power. Fuelled by technological advances, we have come to rely extensively on photographic material to form global connections and understand spaces we cannot otherwise access. At the same time, however, the camera has served to do the precise opposite, creating emotional and psychological distance or enhancing the tactile physical ‘lack’: relationships and experiences are often compromised in visual compensations for real experience.

C L O S E R THAN EVER is focused on the camera’s ability to escape the confines of physical geographies, exploring its various incarnations and the technology that employs it. The exhibition addresses the effects of visual technology on human interaction, parameters of access, and self-perception, as we gain extended control (and equally a loss) over our own identities. Can visual technology become the tool that assists us to break away from divisive stereotypes, in an effort to reveal more fundamental human connections?

curated by Michaela Limberis for ART MEETS CAMERA