smart studio | projects

delay mirror

See yourself close your eyes

The delay mirror is a mirror that constantly plays back an image that is delayed with three seconds - too late to be seen as instantaneous, but too direct to be seen as a recording.

When we say the delay mirror is a mirror, we stretch the definition of what mirrors are. If you stand in front of it, you see yourself, like in a mirror. Technically, it relies on a plasma screen, a camera and a computer, but conceptually it is still, for all practical purposes, a mirror. What really makes it different is that it shows the reflection three seconds later.

In the delay mirror you see yourself per speculum in aenigmate - in a mirror, darkly - but this mirror, because of (rather than in spite of) its distortions in time and space, gives you a new perspective on your own self image. The image is too late to be seen as instantaneous, but too direct to be seen as a recording. You can spin around and see yourself from behind, or see yourself close your eyes. It is a mirror that shows you yourself as you see others.

Delay mirror (from Touching the Invisible). Photo: Loove Broms.

Delay mirror is an example of how the smart studio uses new technology as a material. Here the moving image and the calculations (as well as the physical equipment needed to handle them) are integrated into the object, and neither make sense without the other. Delay mirror is not a movie on a screen - is is a specific object that exists at a certain time and place.

The Delay mirror was originally part of a larger project called the RefashionLab, which acted as a platform for a number of interactive installations that could redefine the culture and experience of a fictitious fashion store. The project was presented in Stockholm in 2001.

The original intention was to offer the visitor an unusual perspective on his own person, a viewpoint that is continuously changing, but not necessarily predictable. It would be the next best thing to having a pair of eyes on your back. However, the real power of the installation unfolded when it was released for public consumption, from children to pensioners.

Delay mirror (as part of the Reflections triptych). Photo: Robert Brecevic.

The effect of being trapped in the 3 second continuum, an unstoppable record of past moments, had an immense impact on each visitor. Young children loved the installation, using it almost like a playground, with an endless curiosity. That curiosity was displaced by suspicion and giggling with the teenagers. Turned to the age of puberty, a shift in the self-image obviously takes place that is extremely challenged by the Delay mirror. Adults were split into different types, those who obviously felt intrigued and self-confident, and those who instantly ran away. And of course actors abusing the piece as an experimental stage to produce their next persona.

The Delay mirror has also been shown in the smart studio exhibition Touching the Invisible, and as part of the interactive video triptych called Reflections.