Bistro 21

The word “frame” can refer to either a physical picture frame or a section of an image.
However, it also denotes an image that is the basic unit of film, part of a rapid succession of moving images.

Frames per second is the measure called frame rate. From approximately twelve frames per second, the human brain starts to combine the individual images creating the optical illusion of movement. These paintings take the opposite route. Individual elements could be excerpts of fantasy comics or video games – frozen moments. Back walls limiting our view into the infinite black holes of the monitors. The coarse graphic resolution of the referenced video game is reflected in the abandonment of details, a common practice in creating the scenographic image. It is only when viewed from a distance, does it merge into a set for a plot yet unknown.

In the 21st century, the digital has become the primary space for exhibition and performance. Here, stories of all scopes are told and artwork exhibited. Often it is done in form of moving images or videos but even the static image is set in motion – it is scrolled up and down by the wiping gestures of our fingers in a sequence assembled by an algorithm. In digital space, no image stands alone. Every image lingers on our retinas for a split second before it is superimposed by the next one. Swept along in the quasi-infinite stream of images, it becomes an eternal frame.

Text: Philipp Hoch