IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE is an exhibition dealing with the perception of time. This can be a moment, which becomes frozen in time, or a duration, which apparently seems to last forever.

The concept of time is self-evident, at least from the scientific point of view. We cannot explore it with a microscopic point of view nor can we stop it. Time happens and it is described of a fundamental quality. It is measured by motion and time becomes evident through motion in space. But how is our personal relation and experience with it? How is the perception of time connected to visual input?

New research says that blinking with the eye may play an active role in the brain – it may “reset” our attention mechanism. This enables us to switch our focus from one thing to another, like cleaning our “visual hard-drive”. Which images stay, which disappear? These and related considerations form the theoretical approach to this exhibition.

IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE refers to that special moment which can be a glimpse of the eye, which lasts for the fraction of a second, but that very short moment can be stored in the memory of the brain forever. Time seems to stop. On the other hand, metaphorically speaking, IN THE BLINK OF THE EYE can also refer to a long duration of time, which seems to pass by rapidly. Consequently, it can be said that perceiving time is a very personal experience.

The artistic exploration of this content concentrates on the moment, the blink and what is stored in the mind. Freezing the moment, the stillness and isolation of the image. The exhibition design is characterized by the combination of the use of Old and New Media. Big-scale drawings, a “storyboard wall” comprising photography and text, and a video-installation dealing with the idea of extending a certain moment to infinity are building the main components of this exhibition. The theoretical approach is explored through the use of different media, where each of the used techniques enters the content from another perspective. To investigate this process the element of water and its transformation to ice are the topic of the visual language. The source of the images is taken predominantly from Lapland.