Augenblick

Blinking is a highly invasive mechanism for our eyesight. Everyday we close our eyes thousands of times without noticing it. Our mind manages to never let us wonder what exactly happens in the moments that we miss.

Augenblick catches those exact forgotten moments and puts them in a whole new light.

This wearable device records every single frame that is missed by its wearer. A highly sensitive sensor reacts to the contraction of the muscles surrounding the eye. Whenever the eyes close a video starts recording and only ends when the eyes are opened again.

The result is a combination of visual impressions in a continuous string of time.

While the wearer is able to perceive the upper stream as his sense of sight interrupted by frequent blinks, the bottom stream shows the recordings of Augenblick, the so called Negative Cut. Put together they produce an uninterrupted continuation of visual information.

While the Negative Cut is only one of the results that can be extracted from Augenblick, there are other ways to explore its potential.

Removing the black frames from a Negative Cut creates a sequence of only the recorded blinks. Hundreds or thousands of lost moments are lined up to form an almost diary-like documentary of the wearer’s experience. Considering that the wearer himself did not actually witness what is shown in that sequence illustrates the gravity of each blink.

This approach invites follow up ideas to further process the data gathered by Augenblick. An uninterrupted Negative Cut is something that can be pictured as content on social media. Its ability to transport information in such a fast-paced way is in line with the recent drive towards shorter and shorter means of communication.

Augenblick is built upon a well-founded work of research of its scientific and artistic background. For more information please refer to this document:

Augenblick Backgrounds and Technical Documentation