Ethann Néon

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When a person looks into a mirror, they see themselves two nanoseconds younger – that being the time it takes for light to travel the distance between the mirror and the eye. But what would happen if the speed of light slowed? The stréphochronoscope1 a new kind of interactive optical device, plays with the properties of the mirror. Raising the question of how we perceive time, the installation invites us to stand in front of a “crystal” mirror2 on which stroboscopic waves conjure up virtual reflections of the past. All spectators have to do is activate the phenakistiscope – an optical toy placed on a rotating axis –to bring the mirror to life. Over time, the ghosts of previous participants become imprinted on the shimmering surface.

This installation pays tribute to pre-cinema in two ways. Firstly, it evokes an optical instrument, the phenakistiscope, invented by Joseph Plateau in 1832. Now a funfair attraction, the phenakistiscope deploys cyclical animation in the moment, like a sudden burst of movement that is specific to present, actual time. At the same time, a chronophotographic effect recalls the scientific work of Étienne-Jules Marey on breaking down movement. This technique reveals spectral images of a barely-past past that is still contemporaneous with the present of the action.

Le Stréphochronoscope thus combines the fun of fairground attractions with a more philosophical reflection on time, articulated through the perception that scientific tools can provide.

1 Neologism formed from the Greek stréphô (to turn), chronos (time), and skopein (to examine).

2 This term is a reference to the concept of the crystal-image formulated by Gilles Deleuze in his second book on cinema.

Ethann Néon

Ethann Néon lives and works in Brussels, where he studied animated film. His experimental films, photographs and installations focus on the representation of time in images. His current practice focuses on the processes of reconstructing memory and the visual concatenation of time, as well as on visual loss.

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