Candle–Machine

Netta Nahardiya, Iddo Charny

In this project, a candle flame is deconstructed and reconstituted using optical mechanics. Exposed mechanisms move before a burning candle, creating a new, unexpected spectacle that connects the lone raw flame and the new image derived from it. Numerous clock hands present throughout the space create an unexpected juxtaposition between the steady passage of time and its hypnotic blurring in the viewers' subjective experience. Concurrently, the project examines the similarity between the natural human attraction to flame visuals and our recently developed tendency to stare at flickering screens, raising questions about digital transformation and the links between seemingly opposing qualities: hidden and visible, raw and processed.