BARCELONA.- The exhibition Close Encounters brings together a selection of new works by Dutch artist Martine Stig that explore other spectral sensitivities. The work delves into visual realms that are invisible to the (human) naked eye, but can be seen by machines and animals. Leveraging technology’s ability to re-imagine, the boundaries between humans and nature slowly shift and we are encouraged to explore our environment, of which we are an indelible part, and expand our concept of reality.

We live in a post-optic world. Human vision is decentralized as (sole) base for knowledge production to make room for the nonhuman (machines, animals, plants). Yet, our worldview is based on optical information (“seeing is believing”!) and our visual culture leans heavily on old habits: affirming the human spectrum as the norm, celebrating the indexical qualities of the image.

The post-optic, as Carolyn L. Kane coins it, is an extension ànd a challenge of vision rooted in optics. It's through algorithmic imagery that we gain the ability to see beyond our own visual limits. This expansion of perception allows us to step beyond a human-centric viewpoint to embrace wavelengths visible to machines and other species.

One of the most vivid examples of this post-optic or algorithmic realm is the use of digital infrared technology. It transcodes invisible data into our visible world, expanding our visual territory. In contexts such as military strategies and facial recognition, digital infrared serves not only to make the invisible visible, but also to guide decision-making processes, silently participating in the invisible conversation that shapes our world.

The memetic relationship of the optical world doesn’t exist in the post- optic; the relationship between the real world and its representation is constantly shaped by data and algorithmic processes. Digital infrared and ultraviolet images act as conduits, offering us reinterpretations of an unseen universe.

The post-optic invites us to expand our parameters of normality and opens doors to the extrasensory. It can contribute to a shared and interconnected reality that fosters interactions between all entities - be they machines, humans or other entities.

Bio Martine Stig

Martine Stig (Netherlands, 1972) lives and works in Amsterdam.

Martine Stig studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Art(The Hague) and at the University of Amsterdam, Philosophy. She is interested in the entanglement of image, gaze and technology. Point of departure in her work is the photographic image; the voyeuristic act: photography (verb) and the autonomic product: photo (noun). Whilst using the medium (and moving away from it) she researches its role in the perception of reality.

Stig published four books and some artist publications and works on a new publication with FW-books. Her work has been shown at Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Aperture Foundation (NYC), Huis Marseille (Amsterdam). Her work is part of collections of Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam), the Nederlands Fotomuseum (Rotterdam), H+F collection& ABN/Amro collection.

She has a teaching position at the Master Institute of Visual Cultures, Den Bosch. She co-founded the practice and research-based art foundation Radical Reversibility and, recently, the online meeting space WeAlgo.

Works on display

Near

2023, quadriptics, inkjet printing on paper, 102 x 153 cm

In this video I explore the possibilities of a shared, inclusive timespace by exploring visual realms that are invisible to the (human) naked eye, but can be seen by machines and animals. Leveraging technology’s ability to re-imagine, boundaries are slowly shifting between human and nature. Norms are challenged in the close-ups of flesh-like trees, blood-like mountain streams and cyborg-humans. An ultrasoundscape accompanies an ongoing conversation with ChatGPT.

Portraits

2023, diptychs, detail, inkjet printing on paper, 39 x 29 cm

These near-infrared images show classic studio portraits in which humans are captured at near-infrared wavelengths.

Marlborough
Martine Stig: Close Encounters
November 30th, 2023 - February 10th, 2024