“Scrying from A Different Realm — A Reflection on Reflections.”
In Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 film, 2001: A Space Odyssey, there is a mysterious object called The Monolith that is a movie screen rotated 90 degrees. This is probably the single-most important insight to make in the entire film because unlocking all other codes and symbols flow from this. Each of the four monoliths in the film instills shock and awe by a seeming external influence. In short, the first monolith represents the primates’ fear of the leopard, the second and third represent an apparent extra-terrestrial influence, and the fourth, in the renaissance room, represents death itself. The monoliths, with their black, movie screen surfaces, signify how our perception of reality can be manipulated by (images projected into) the media around us: movies, television, social media feeds.
Similarly, there is a popular tv show called Black Mirror about technology taking over the future or something; but the fans of the show are sure to remind everyone once a week that the show is called “Black Mirror” because that’s what you end up looking at every time an episode ends: you see your reflection in the black mirror of your tv or computer screen. But, in our real world, outside of Black Mirror the tv show, and A Space Odyssey the movie, what is a black mirror used for? It’s used for scrying. Scrying is the process of foretelling the future via a crystal ball, black mirror, bowl of liquid, or other reflective objects or surfaces. The word “scrying” actually comes from the Old English word descry, which means “to make out dimly” or “to reveal.” [from w*kipedia]: “The objective might be personal guidance, prophecy, revelation, or inspiration, but down the ages, scrying in various forms also has been a prominent means of divination or fortune-telling. It remains popular in occult circles, discussed in many media, both modern and centuries-old.”
This can be interpreted in two different ways (I think). The first being that, when I’m looking at a movie/tv/phone screen and seeing a movie or my twitter feed, I am, in a sense, scrying into the non-physical realm of the internet. The second would be me using the reflection on my turned-off phone’s screen as a witch would use a crystal ball, metaphysically and spiritually, trying to see a vision.
I have had some paranormal experiences, but I’ve (thankfully) never seen anything in a mirror that wasn’t physically around me. Still, the info above just makes me wonder what’s actually happening (in a metaphysical sense) when we are staring at a screen. So, I suppose, this collection of photos connects the idea that the black screens that rule our lives are akin to scrying mirrors. A reflection on reflections. Images taken through the black reflection of an angled phone screen.
In accordance with the reflecting aspect of this project, I will assign a palindromic number to each of the 15 pictures. [A palindromic number is a number that remains the same when its digits are reversed. In other words, it has reflectional symmetry across a vertical axis. The term palindromic is derived from palindrome, which refers to a word whose spelling is unchanged when its letters are reversed.]
[personal] 00, 11, 22, 33, 88
[unnatural environment] 99, 363, 393, 888, 1331
[neutral environment] 3223, 8008, 31413, 91019, 91919
[***Being told that I needed to make it more obvious that these pictures were taken through screens, when the idea of this project is more about the FACT that these pictures were taken through a screen, and not the look. I’m trying to convey that we look at the world through screens, and it’s hard to discern if what you’re looking at is real life or not (with fake life being the internet/screen). The only reason I’ve allowed the viewer to be able to see my phone case at the edges of pictures, book titles in reverse, odd glares, or my entire phone in #31413, is to give the viewer an escape route — to let them know that what you’re looking at isn’t real; but this isn’t evident in every picture because one’s internet addiction isn’t always escapable, neither is being under the guise of the internet being real life.]
All of the following pictures were either taken through the reflection of a phone screen or a computer screen.
