Zoetrope

Sapphire Goss is an artist who makes films depicting chimerical worlds and Luke Harby is an artist who works solely with photographic film.

A zoetrope is a mechanical device used to mimic motion by means of displaying a sequence of images. It consists of a cylinder with cuts vertically in the sides. On the inner surface of the cylinder is a band with images from a set of sequenced pictures. As the cylinder spins, the user looks through the cuts at the pictures. The scanning of the slits keeps the pictures from simply blurring together, and the user sees a rapid succession of images, producing the illusion of motion.

Due to the nature of the device the images cycle every 360 degrees creating a regular, rhythmic sequence. Our idea was to be build a digital zoetrope where the speed is altered randomly and images are injected at arbitrary intervals, creating a disorientating, unsyncopated effect.

Best viewed on Desktop/landscape mode. Some light strobing.

© Sapphire Goss & Luke Harby

2021