PRESENCE OF THE ABSENCE
"Presence of Absence" is part of the collaboration with researcher Hope Kean from the Evlab Neuroscience And Language Lab at MIT. In this series, we incorporate our subjective impressions into abstract compositions, making drawings, light projections, sculptures, videos, among others. By combining personal observations with research in neuroscience, our goal is to evoke the liminal space between optical reality and our mind's capacity for inner imagination.
We seek to materialize, to give form to the tenacity of memory. The sculptures represent not only physical structures, but also conceptual structures: they embody the dialectic between the ephemeral and the enduring, between the tangible and the intangible. This play of light and shadow is a constant dialogue between what we see and what we remember, between scientific knowledge and lived experience.
Each Piece is a fragment of our experience, an attempt to capture those fleeting instants that, like residual images, are engraved in our emotional retina. This Is Our Dialogue with time, our way of exploring how light and memory play hide-and-seek in the dark chambers of our consciousness. Here, in this intersection of light and shadow, science and art, we try to capture the essence of our being.
CONCEPTUAL DEVELOPMENT
“Every act of perception, is to some degree an act of creation, and every act of memory is to some degree an act of imagination”
Oliver Sacks
The subjective experience of visual perception involves complex interactions between external stimuli and internal neurological processes. Phenomena such as phosphenes and afterimages exemplify the ephemeral nature of perceptual experiences that emerge from this interplay between the physical and the mental. This visual phenomenon becomes a metaphor for the process of memory. Just as a residual image persists behind closed eyelids, memories cling to the curtain of our mind, often more vivid in their absence than in their presence.
These luminous visual sensations have fascinated philosophers, artists and scientists for centuries, as they vividly exemplify the imagination's ability to evoke images independent of external visual stimuli and thus invite consideration of the neurological and psychological inputting of perception and memory.
The artists´s life in Miami, a city bathed in intense and persistent light make it such that when she closes her eyes, these glimmers that refuse to fade seem to access her visual history, projecting roving patterns that echo into places bathed in the infinite light of the city. They are reminiscent of those deep, intimate memories that arise from within for no apparent reason, momentarily illuminating our consciousness before fading back into darkness.
Memories, like phosphenes, are not perfect reproductions of reality. They are interpretations distorted by time, emotions and subsequent experiences.
Shannon's mathematical theory of communication articulated how messages encounter 'noise' or interference as they traverse a channel, resulting in inevitable distortions. Drawing parallels to this framework, this art project aims to explore how visual information transforms as it travels through multiple layers of mediation, from neurological to algorithmic representations.
Much like how messages face potential distortion in communication channels, visual experiences too are altered, whether by neurological processes or external manipulation.
The initial creative process involved generating unique visual representations using artificial intelligence (AI). The AI was provided a set of inputs including my own brain scans, my b/w sketches, neuroscience imagery, and textual concepts related to perception. This allowed the algorithm to interpret and synthesize these elements into novel images, adding its own layer of abstraction or 'noise.'
These AI-rendered images then become a canvas upon which I further impose my artistic interpretation. Whether manipulating it into a dynamic video, translating it onto diverse tactile mediums, crafting it into a sculptural form, or abstracting it further through drawing, I introduce another layer of ‘noise’. This ‘noise’ isn’t just distortion; it’s my personal, artistic dialogue with the original concept, echoing the age-old practice of artists who, rather than replicating nature, create abstractions that resonate with deeper truths.
The final artwork, therefore, isn’t a literal representation of the neuroscience imagery. It is an abstraction, a metamorphosis that has journeyed through the algorithmic mind of AI and the interpretive lens of the artist. This iterative process of transformation and reinterpretation invites viewers to contemplate the mutable nature of perception, the continuous interplay between the literal and the abstract, and the profound ways in which ‘noise’, whether biological, technological, or artistic, shapes our understanding of the world.
PRESENCE OF THE ABSENCE - VIDEO INSTALATION
"Presence of the absence" , the video part of her collaboration with MIT, was selected to be showcased at Times Square during the Armory Show from Sept 2-8 2024.
Isabel Englebert with "Presence of the absence" during de Armony Show in Times Square
PRESENCE OF THE ABSENCE - PLEXIGLASS SCULPTURES
These pieces, capture the essence of abstraction through their interplay of form, light, and shadow. Constructed from plexiglass, the sculptures feature smooth, flowing shapes that seem to hover in space, both delicate and solid at once. Its transparent surfaces create a subtle balance between presence and absence, evoking a minimalist style that recalls the works of artists like Ellsworth Kelly and Sol LeWitt, who explored the intersection of geometry, perception, and space. The material's translucency allow light to pass through, enhancing its airy quality, while the structure itself retains a sense of clarity and permanence.
When illuminated, the pieces casts a shadow on the wall, which conceptually ties to the idea of afterimages. Just as afterimages linger briefly after the original image has faded, the shadow forms a fleeting trace of the sculpture, a visual echo that fades over time. This contrast between the solid object and its transient shadow emphasizes the nature of memory: a lasting imprint of something that is no longer present. The pieces speak to the idea of memory as both tangible and ephemeral, capturing the essence of an experience while acknowledging its inevitable fading, much like the afterimages we carry with us.
SCULPTURE 1
65 x 65 cm
Plexiglass, metal, light
SCULPTURE 2
180 x 80 cm
Plexiglass
PRESENCE OF THE ABSENCE - CYANOTYPES
These pieces, made using the cyanotype process, explore the idea of memory as a fleeting trace, much like afterimages. The overlapping rings, each progressively softer and more faded, evoke the transient nature of how memories linger before they fade. The method of creating the cyanotype—where light exposure captures the image—mirror how memories are formed in the mind: clear at first, but eventually softening and dissipating. The rings begin with strong definition but blur as they move across the surface, reflecting how afterimages slowly lose their intensity and fade after the initial visual impact.
Through the cyanotype process, the artwork becomes a metaphor for the act of remembering. The rings, marked by light and then gradually fading, suggest how moments or memories leave their imprint but are never permanent. Similar to afterimages, which vanish after their initial appearance, the cyanotype preserves these moments as fleeting imprints, capturing their brief existence. The contrast between the defined rings and the dark background highlights the tension between what is present and what is lost over time, inviting the viewer to reflect on how memories, like afterimages, linger in the mind before they eventually disappear.
30 x 37 cm
Paper, Chemicals for cyanotype printing
100 x 82 cm
Paper, Chemicals for cyanotype printing
"Presence of the Absence - Cyanotipes" exhibited at Lorena del Pilart Art Gallery - Galerías Larreta, Buenos Aires