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Optical Device

By Bruce Allan 2003 - 2004

Bruce Allan

Dimensions
Life size (variable)

In an idle moment in my Gloucestershire garden I picked up a small terracotta pot and looked through it. Doing this eliminated peripheral vision and caused framing to take place, giving a surprising intensity and clarity of vision. Later I put the pot on a metal tripod to form an optical instrument. The name of each plant focused on becomes the name of the specific piece in the series eg Ampelopsis tricuspidata. The idea of looking at a garden through a plant pot is a conceit. It reverses the normal order of things.

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