Second Sight // Details
Charlie Levin

The Content
There is always something behind the curtain, a story behind the scenes. Second Sight, a series of layered paintings, speaks to stories of migration and the struggles people undertake to change their circumstances. It encourages us to look beyond the obvious, to actively participate in exploring other worlds, and to remember we will never know what someone has been through.

The Installation
When the painting is lit from the front, the viewer sees four simple seated figures. When backlit, another image is revealed. The technique I use layers multiple images within a single surface. Translucent materials allow the image to change depending on the direction of the light source. In its original installation, a large cable extended from the painting to a switchbox, and viewers were invited to manually control the lighting, and in doing so, affect the image. If that level of user-interactivity is not practical, the lighting can be set to fluctuate automatically or in various combinations as well.

The Performance/Sound Installation
Second Sight's companion piece, Second Place, developed with performance artist Natalie Brewster Nguyen, is a multi-layered, eight-voice text that can be presented as a free-standing sound installation or a live performance. A meditation on political, historical, and personal migration, Second Place tells true stories of new Americans and refugees as they journey through the space between there and here. The script weaves together a variety of texts—facts about navigation, motion, and immigration law; stories relating the hero's journey from myth and fairy tales to first-person accounts of people undergoing migration, and more. This unique performance explores the parallels between all travels into the unknown ... and the dislocation, courage, and change involved in the journey. Audio samples and a copy of the script are available upon request. The original performance was presented by Performing Arts Chicago in 2004. The project was the recipient of a grant from the Experimental Sound Studio in Chicago in 2005. The text was featured in work by ambisonic sound artist Monica Ryan at the SightSonic Sound Arts Festival in York, UK in 2006 and Soundwalk in Long Beach, California in 2007.
Click here to read a review of the original performance. >