Spectral Traces: Dreams Dissected in the Digital Gaze

The night, historically a time of rest and refuge, has been invaded by technology that turns darkness into day, anonymity into exposure. It is within this nocturnal context that I encountered Chantal Akerman's 'De l'Autre Côté' riveting night vision footage—an intimate glimpse into the struggle of migrants, seen through the lens of detached surveillance. A piercing, dehumanising cross-hair taking aim at the very human pursuit of dreams and survival.

My work takes this haunting visual encounter, fragments it using the Delaunay algorithm—a methodology steeped in notions of territorial control and wartime strategy—and reconstructs it in a mosaic of pink-hued triangles. Each triangle is a fragment, a story, a dream, or perhaps a nightmare. The pink not only serves as a nod to the "Pink Mist" of targeted warfare but also evokes the delicate hues of hope, the pink dreams of those seeking a better life. Yet, it is a dual-edged sword. The Delaunay's precise divisions, its sharp edges, simultaneously evoke notions of targeting, fragmentation, and territorial demarcation.

Being a serendipitous television discovery during an insomniac night in Perth, just days after the Cronulla riots, Akerman's footage unearthed a memory, a feeling of dislocation and the search for identity. Privacy, in the age of relentless surveillance and data monetisation, becomes a luxury. My piece underscores the universality of the human quest for dignity amidst the shards of technology's incursions.

Technical Details:
Video Installation, Digital, Color.
Duration: 7 minutes (looped).
Materials: Digital projection.

Acknowledgments:
Inspired by Chantal Akerman's "De l'Autre Côté" and the theoretical frameworks of territoriality and control inherent in the Delaunay triangulation.