[June 18th 2002]
Article
Seeing what you don't get - 'nature' in the cityscape...

Peculiar Binoculars - Or the Stereographic Viewer
An installation by Nick Brooks (UK) in the streets of Copenhagen. Text and images by Kristina Ilsøe.


- having a look

Did you see them yet? Well, the steel constructions with a binocular shaped head full of surprises tend to blend in with the surroundings. But they are there, placed at four different locations (Nørrebro station, Kgs. Nytorv, Nyhavn by water bus stop 2 and Knippelsbrogade by water bus stop 1). And if you did not peep into Nicks 3-D world, it is not too late until the 23rd of June.


- going for a view on Komgens Nytorv in Copenhagen

The stereographic view
Nick has a photographic and artistic background, and in each set of binocular he has put an illuminated 3-D image. Taking two pictures of the same image, from different angels, and placing one behind each of the peeping-holes has created the 3-D images.


- seeing something..

Nick did the 'particular pictures, of particular pieces of forest in particular geographical areas', as a contrast to the ethnographic tendency to use a generic code that makes landscapes identical across larger spaces. This reflects his fascination with particular places, and is intended to prevent the viewer from associating the images with expected and previously experienced landscape-images. The pictures are all taken in large spaces, and he replaces the pictures every now and then.


- seeing something else...

Unexpected intersections
They are not connected to the urban setting, or mere romantic beautification's of 'wild life', as one might expect. It is in Nicks words pictures of places that are left, marked by mans non-presence, mining or logging activities and other atypical scenarios.

The purpose with the displaced images is to create an awareness of landscapes that exists all the time, in the present time as you are standing in the city, somewhere else completely unobserved, completely out of the common consciousness. Nick is thereby bringing unexpected places into unexpected moments.

The passer-by
How do you imagine a passer-by will react to the binoculars?
"I do not really know, but I am very curious to find out. It is possible to miss them, but for those who do find them this may ad to the reward of spotting them. But there might also be some resistance in the encounter, because people are not very prepared to draw attention to themselves by doing something no one else is doing. This is a very interesting general problem, unless you make a piece you can see in one glance. Even if it is peeping into binoculars, being watched watching someone can be an obstacle. I am interested in catching people's gaze for as long as possible, and this piece is an experiment in this sense. Can I catch their gaze, and for how long is it possible to keep their attention?"


- seeing something?

To me it was a mix of surprise, puzzle and fascination with the technical and emotional implications of providing me with an illusion of a beautiful 3D space, that kept me there looking into the binoculars. -And as I stood there, the binoculars caught the attention of several passer-by, and more and more people wanted a gaze for a moment or two. Maybe it is the reward of daring to take a peep, or maybe the surprising results of peeping, which made people smile?

www.contemplation.dk