Redshift

Redshift is an interactive video installation that invites visitors to discover the world as it appears under infrared (IR) light. Presented as a polyptych across a variable number of screens, the work showcases pairs of natural and urban landscapes recorded simultaneously in the visible spectrum (~380-750 nm) and in the near-infrared spectrum (~750-1400 nm). The two videos in each pair blend into one another, with the crossfade rate varying based on the viewing distance : when a visitor stands far from the screen, only the IR image is visible. As they move closer, the image progressively transforms into the corresponding visible-light video. Stepping away reverses the transformation. This color-shifting effect, tied to the relative position and movement between the observer and the observed object, is described by the physics concept that gives the installation its name : redshift. The work illustrates a philosophical idea about the nature of perception – that our understanding of objects is not fixed, but rather conditioned by our relationship to them, and potentially enriched when we begin to move and explore the space in which we find them. It also explores how the subjective and spatially situated viewpoint of spectators can be integrated into an otherwise static video work. While our human eyes do not allow us to see infrared light, technology can grant us access to this world, revealing mysteriously glowing plants, ethereal clouds, and a luminous, alien color palette. None of the videos were retouched in post-production, the colors were entirely determined by each camera’s automatic white balance algorithm.