127 VELOCITIES
Whereas the beautiful is limited, the sublime is limitless, so that the mind in the presence of the sublime, attempting to imagine what it cannot, there is pain in the failure but pleasure in contemplating the immensity of the attempt”
Immanuel Kant
127 Velocities is a modern-day statement on the philosophical view of the ‘sublime’ inspired by Immanuel Kant. In this contemporary creative practice, the duo weave together their practices to invite audiences to inquire on their perceptions of the sublime, through the powerful and arresting medium of Digital Contemporary Practice. This is an on-going project and will be re-released in 2023.
This Audio-visual piece is an experimental and dynamic fusion of traditional hand-crafted textile art by Kay and audio-visual digital mastery by Mortimore, where we see traditional embroidery techniques transformed through the lens of modern technology. Hand embroidered sequin crystal and bead embellished artworks have been documented through digitalized HD filmmaking and re-constructed through cutting edge digital techniques. These include; video mapping, live visual control, intelligent and a sensor reactive projection software. By merging their disciplines this immersive audio reactive experience features a digital projection design which is divided into 128 positional rings which intersect 127 velocities. This produces numerous combinations of light of varying wavelengths.
“Sublime theory is at the heart of Kant’s aesthetic. Eighteenth Century philosophy is ultimately concerned with the contrast between the mathematical and dynamic capacity of the mind to apprehend the limitless or the indeterminable aspects of the human experience. Humans since the beginning of time have strived to achieve a sense of greatness beyond the limitations of the physical body, mental calculation and intellectual comparison. According to Kant the feeling of the sublime is something we feel based on subjective reality: a feeling of awe which takes us into a transcendent state beyond linear thought I aim to achieve this .”
Sequin Kay, 2019