The first Piece of Me presented in the collection is 1/1924 and I have decided to take a moment to reflect on what I see in the image and share my free associations from it.
At first glance: I see two horses’ heads (back to back), I see a cartoon bear with a smirk on his face, I see a sad mouth. Taken as a whole: I see almost the face of dog or a particularly scary clown, perhaps a clown mask.
I asked my son (aged 11) what he could see. He replied: “I saw a bear, a polar bear I think. I saw a little baby lizard, like a head and a body. Maybe a big lizard too. That’s all I see, just a polar bear and lizards.”
Looking where he points, I don’t see the lizard. As I look again it takes shape. Or is it a fish head that I see? Suddenly, the obvious curves of a chameleon’s head, with obligatory bulging eyes, take shape as I lean forward and stare at the image in front of me.
A friend “loves the mouse head in the middle”, and cannot shake the dominating image of “a phallus” in the picture. I assume she means the protuberance at the top, but I forgot to ask. I find myself lost in the image as I look for meaning in the interplay of shapes, colours and structures in the image.
1/1924 is also known Position 1, Colour Scheme 1 and is unique in its construction. The next 51 images in the collection share the same Position as its base architecture. However, the same moment in time shared through different lenses creates a different focus in each image. Just as I see things differently from my friend or my child.
Piece of Me 26/1924 (also known as Position 1, Colour Scheme 26) uses quite a different pallette and whilst the bear’s face (or is it a mouse?) seems to be highlighted, other things seem to have faded in the sea of red. As I look: I see the image of a small turtle form. I wipe my screen and the turtle disappears, a speck of dust had changed what I saw. Where the turtle had formed for just a moment, a family of rats takes its place and spreads around the space. I find myself lost in the image once again.
What do you see? Tell me on twitter @1924_me
Where does the artist end and the image begin?
The full collection of 1924 Pieces of Me will be available on Opensea to view and collect. Find out more.
You can also explore the collection on YouTube at the 1924 Pieces of Me channel.