Morfisk
2016

Baum & Leahy

Morfisk (danish for morphic and mother fish) is a multi-screen moving image installation exploring and visually telling the story of Metamorphosis. The installation is made up with various elements grouped in triples - three videos projected onto separate pools of water, their projections relating to the three stages of metamorphosis; egg, nymph and adult, as well as referencing three perspectives on the transition: in vitro, in vivo and in silico. The videos are reflected from the liquid onto walls and ceiling, visualising the fluid dynamics and merging between the different states and forms of metamorphosis. Over time the three videos melt together, complemented by the sound of the 30 different spellings of mackerel being read out loud, at first staccato before morphing into unrecognisable, organic sounds. Contrasting the visual liquidity, the audio suggests language as both the tool as well as the restriction of understanding complex systems.

Our initial interest was to explore and experiment with soft, responsive screens and how the the moving image content or story could be reflected and narrated in the media itself. The concept of tactile screens, as opposed to the assumed hard and digital, led to to the idea of projecting on water. Listening to Gleick’s "The Information" audiobook, we were captured by the absurdity of the reading out loud of the 30 different spellings of mackerel, letter by letter deconstructing language into sounds and exemplifying the contrast between the natural elegance of the mackerel (and its metamorphosis) and our quest to describe and comprehend it.