What is Phantasmagoria World?
Phantasmagoria is an abstract expression of psychology. The Id (subconscious) and Ego (conscious) are two of the most influential forces in our lives. The internal dialogue in which they are engaged crafts our thoughts, desires, dreams and fears. These pictures are an effort to visualise that dialogue.
The word ‘phantasmagoria’ references an illusionary practice that first thrilled audiences in the 18th Century
By projecting moving images onto clouds of drifting smoke, showmen of the day would convince their audiences that they had broken through to the spirit world.
What they did was artificial but it evoked an essential energy that animates our bodies – the soul. From Christianity to Taoism, the soul can be found in spiritual traditions throughout the world. Through Phantasmagoria, we seek to capture elements of this nebulous realm.
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CecilBoyd Lightboxes
The 12 works were created by CecilBoyd using an original combination of processes and media. Painted backdrops establish an aesthetic mood, over which their ghostly subjects are photographically layered. The images are then framed as interactive light installations. Using a controller, the viewer can select different layers of colour individually or leave them to continuously flow through the spectrum from one to the next.
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Where Warhol would make screen prints using differing palettes to repeat the image, CecilBoyd present many palettes in one image. As Goethe wrote, colour possesses an ‘empirical feeling’. Having the ability to experience many flowing layers of the image allows the viewer to have an enhanced emotional engagement with the piece.