20 milliseconds

Anna Alexandridou and Athina Kaltasi, 20 milliseconds, 2024
Ιnstallation, record player, motherboards, polarizing filters, lamp, keyboard, bubble wrap, 33 x 24 x 38 cm

The work of Anna Alexandridou and Athina Kaltasi, “20 milliseconds,” is an installation that combines mechanisms and light, inviting viewer interaction. At the base of the work lies a record player that rotates a sculpture made of motherboards. On the motherboards rests a light source, wrapped in polarizing filters shaped into a cone. Polarizing filters are soft plastic surfaces used in screens to reduce unwanted light reflections. The motion can also be perceived through a second filter, which contributes to the overall optical illusion. Around the sculpture, mechanical parts and a keyboard with broken keys and signs of wear comment on the materiality of time. 

The artists initially highlight the importance of technology for persons with disabilities. Through the reuse of diverse materials, such as mechanical parts that deteriorate and are replaced over time, they explore the transformations these materials undergo. The work comes to a completion through the participatory engagement of the audience. 

Simple, detached observation confines us to the role of spectators, while the combination of our senses shifts us towards active participation. The visitor chooses how to touch and explore the surfaces of the work. In this way, the experience of the installation is shaped by the function of the nervous system and the mind, with the gaze acting as a mediator. The image we perceive is not formed instantly, but emerges as the result of three neural processes—motion, shape, and color—which differ from each other by a minimal temporal difference of approximately “20 milliseconds.”

Exhibition section: Transformations
Walking through all kinds of landscapes, materials in decay and decomposition change form and role. They narrate stories of the place and of the bodies that have crossed it…

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