art > Qualiascope

Fluids, Absorbed and Accumulated
Flip books and shelf
2014
Aural Thermometer
Thermometer, headphone jacks, audio, headphones
2014
Sounds Unheard, Then Heard Suddenly
Flip books and shelf
2014
Incremental Meld
Yardstick, fringe
2014
Incremental Meld
Yardstick, fringe
2014
Giving Power/Receiving Directions
Dry transfer lettering
2014
Qualiascope
Animation
2014
Fulgerite
Vibrational speaker, audio, stethoscope
2014
Fulgerite
Vibrational speaker, audio, stethoscope
2014
Fulgerite
Vibrational speaker, audio, stethoscope
2014
Gnomon (Kitchen Lamp)
Light box, photographs on transparency
2014
Gnomon (Kitchen Lamp)
Light box, photographs on transparency
2014
Gnomon (Kitchen Lamp)
Light box, photographs on transparency
2014
Aberrations
Microscope, slides
2014
Aberrations
Microscope, slides
2014
Aberrations
Microscope, slides
2014
Gnomon (Lists)
Clock, shelf, drawings in notebook
2014
Gnomon (Lists)
Clock, shelf, drawings in notebook
2014
Gnomon (Lists)
Clock, shelf, drawings in notebook
2014
Extension
Overhead projector, extension cord, thread, transparency
2014
Extension
Overhead projector, extension cord, thread, transparency
2014
Extension
Overhead projector, extension cord, thread, transparency
2014
Extension
Overhead projector, extension cord, thread, transparency
2014
Extension
Overhead projector, extension cord, thread, transparency
2014
Absorption Rolodex
Muslin, thread, piping, wood
2014
Absorption Rolodex
Muslin, thread, piping, wood
2014
Reflex
Dry transfer lettering
2014

Qualiascope
Solo Exhibition at Roman Susan
2014

In his book of fiction Phi: A Voyage from the Brain to the Soul, neuroscientist Guilio Tononi writes of a “qualiascope”, a hypothetical device that measures integrated information of surrounding spaces and things.

“Qualia" are subjective experiences: pain from a stubbed toe, the taste of food, the perception of color. These experiences can only be expressed and interpreted - there are no tools for systematically measuring one’s qualia.

Contained within Roman Susan’s space are phenomena for which there are tools for measuring: temperature, light movement, volume of sounds. Are these more objective, more real, than an individual’s perceptions, due to their quantifiability? I responded to this question by treating the phenomena as subjective experiences.

Qualiascope invites the public to understand how a room feels: to repeatedly watch light move from side to side; to feel limited warmth; to hear sudden conversations; to absorb water. Each isolated experience, presented in the form of flip books and various animation objects, contains a series of increments much like any calculating tool. The sounds and images, separate yet connected, allow the visitor to control their own rate of “playback”, as well as suggest a different scale of duration: a room’s sense of time.

In this environment, metaphor is as valid a measuring device as a thermometer, and empathy provides objectivity.