Severi Haapala: A Kind of Magic
A reflection creates an optical illusion.
A Kind of Magic plays with the optical illusion and the reflection of the light. It’s a modern version of the 19th-century Pepper’s Ghost illusion. Performing and revealing the trick simultaneously compels us to question what we see. The work is originated from the materials for my Master’s thesis, in which I study the virtual performer. I have concluded that the virtual performer is a technological system built on the illusion of real-time presence and interactivity, one that we evaluate both in terms of technology and human-like vitality. In contrast, A Kind of Magic is a work that reveals the technological system of illusion constructed around real-time presence and interactivity. The real “magic trick” occurs when the viewer gains insight into how the illusion is created, thereby completing or in fact truly creating the work. In other words, A Kind of Magic comes into being only when its illusion is unveiled to the viewer.
