Look, the Sun is Burning

synopsis

An illustration from the 1685 treatise Oculus Artificialis Teledioptricus recalls a time when vision was understood as an active ray emanating from the eye. Visual artist Gregor Eldarb takes up this idea in an analogue experiment. Using a magnifying glass, sunlight, a magnet and an oily liquid with magnetic properties, he creates crystalline structures and amorphous landscapes within the camera’s lens. Combined with a digital display and Stefan Nemeth’s minimalist score, this exploration of the human gaze becomes a compelling spectacle in which historical notions of vision clash against today’s fascination with glowing screens.

 

“Like membranes, similitudes flutter through the air, and wherever they are carried, they are evident in the canyons.” — Johann Zahn, The Long Distance Artificial Eye, or Telescope

biography

Gregor Eldarb (1971) is a Vienna-based visual artist. After decades of working with conceptual painting, graphic art and architectural models, he expanded his practice to include the moving image. His films explore surface structures, the physical properties of materials and shifts in human perception in the digital age.

film details

director:	Gregor Eldarb
producer:	Gregor Eldarb
music:	Stefan Németh