HandMachine Project
Krzysztof Wodiczko, Adam Whiton, Sung Ho Kim

The HandMachine is a work in progress. Its attempt is to, through mediated and mechanical means, re-visualize our concept of the human form and image. Our increasing reliance on the mediated image of ourselves, through video and television, which represents neither a false nor an accurate portrayal of the human aesthetic, distorts our own perceptions and forces us to ask, is what we see real?

The project explores and attempts to exploit the current technology and mechanics of the video camera and its reliance on CCDs (charged coupled devices) to capture "reality". By controlling the motion and path of the camera and using an articulated light source, a real-time video image can visually represent multiple perspectives simultaneously, thus distorting the camera's scene or object of focus into an image/object representing space, time and direction. The process is similar to slit-scan photography but uses video and results in real-time motion video of the distorted scene/object allowing the mediated image to be compared with the reality image.

The HandMachine is assembled as an experimental project to question the human image in the media-culture. HandMachine unfolds this awareness of the human body through time and speed in transition.

The HandMachine Project is an ongoing experiment.