Ivana Franke is a visual artist whose light installations examine the intersection between perception, cognition and environment, focusing on perceptual thresholds.
I am specifically intrigued by her installation Retreat into Darkness, which has the ability to take the spectator into a visual and bodily experience like no other, potentially breaking our preconceived ideas of reality. Her use of reflection makes light appear to be floating in thin air and creating almost constellations of something. Initially, these stand still, as if frozen but as the spectator begins to move around the installation, these things disperse in every direction. These peculiar constellations seem to extend deep into the never ending space.
This star-like installation allows the spectator to get a glimpse of these unknown moving objects revealed in the dark. Due to the reflective surfaces used, the perceived light translates into experiences that challenge our perception and imagination, suggesting spatial architectures that cannot be identified through the ones we already know.
