By Tim Schneider, Gérard Kubryk, Vincent Hulot, Matthieu Courgeon, David Poirier-Quinot, Frédéric Auchère, Frédéric Baudin, Éric Buchlin, Xavier Maître : :
The Eye of the Sun is a motion- and touch-sensitive digital sculpture representing a gigantic human-like eye with a realistic aesthetic. The size of a human being, it is spherical, white and vascularised. It is connected to the surrounding world by an electrical optic nerve, has its own behaviour and is animated by rapid eye movements to scan the space around it. When spectators interact with the Eye in the right way, it unveils to the public the sun as seen in the ultraviolet spectrum. The Eye of the Sun is a play on curiosity that seeks to redefine the spectator-artwork relationship. The Sun is no longer the serene eternal yellow orb suspended in the sky but a living celestial body with its own internal dynamics that become perceivable once we go beyond the visible spectrum. Taken for granted and for good, the Sun is here laid open with nuclear reactions deep inside, gamma photon emission and diffusion to the periphery, their propagation and partial absorption down to Earth. The Sun paves the way for research that pushes the boundaries of knowledge and understanding further.
The installation consists of two acrylic glass hemispheres on which the images of the Eye or the sun are projected from the inside. The hemispheres are connected by a central technical disk that houses the two video projectors alongside the required optical equipment (lenses and mirrors), a network router, a sound card, and the several power supplies and cables. Eight loudspeakers are positioned around this technical equator, providing spatialised sound, as well as sixteen infrared cameras which allow the Eye to sense motion in its vicinity. Finally, two more wide-angle infrared cameras are installed centrally on both sides of the equator disk allowing for hand detection through the semi-transparent hemispheres.
The Eye of the Sun was exhibited from 1 June to 16 June, 2024 and during Nuit Blanche 2024 at the Museum of Arts and Crafts in Paris, France.
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