John Blake

I discovered an installation put together by the artist John Blake. Called Their Eyes II (1980) It comprises of a one ring-circuit of green rotating lamps, on the walls are white letters on white walls that spell "THEIR EYES" 100 times.

When the viewer entered the space appeared to be empty until their eyes adjusted to the moving light, becoming aware of the words written on the wall, increasingly so until the fullness of the walls is realised. Blake thought that these gradual series of realisations in seeing ‘THEIR EYES’ all around, which make up the piece, had a duration of about 20 minutes for most people.

I chose to mention this piece as it has a distinct similarity to my final piece. The words that I have written in varnish on black walls will not be obvious at first, becoming more so with the adjustment of vision. I made the decision to use torches rather than a lamp as I want the viewer to have the control to explore the writing themselves.

The White Rabbit...

The use of words leading up to the space has become more important than first thought. They have become the ‘white rabbit’ as from Alice in Wonderland. Enticing, intriguing, leading the viewer into a dream world. They create a narrative preparing the viewer for what they will experience when entering the space.