Nicolas Sassoon

Jake Fried

Gary Edward Blum

rudxane

Jesse Draxler

qubibi

Magical Realism: Part II

Sites for the imagination: Nicolas Sassoon in conversation with Alfredo Cramerotti

GATE

GATE is an artwork created in December 2022 using a digital moiré pattern technique, which consists of two overlapping images to generate the illusion of a third. The animation pictures an imaginary gate designed as a folding screen, with an arched doorway at its center and diamond-shaped windows on each side. The visual style of GATE draws from 16-bit era computer graphics and optical art to create a seemingly paper-thin architecture playing with our sense of perspective, light, and depth. 

GATE is informed by many of my experiences of early computer graphics and videogames at a young age. The artwork also considers the affinity for escapism, dreamscapes, symbolic architectures, and liminal spaces built upon these experiences. Growing up in the 80s, 8-bit and 16-bit graphics played a significant role in the shaping of imaginary worlds – means of escape from reality, where the space of the screen was a two-dimensional portal leading into multi-dimensional universes. GATE is a reflection on the quality of these universes, with its game-like appearance and elements of personal mythology. The architectural form is both symbolic and a space of projection. It also draws inspiration from Japanese folding screen furniture and eighties dark fantasy films. GATE, as a screen and portal, operates within a broader tradition of artworks as sites for the imagination.   

Artwork information: 3840x2160 pixels (4K), 72 frames, 25 frames per second, 256 colors, 2022. The collector of GATE will be offered various archival versions of the artwork.