PEN UMB ANT
Synopsis
Paperlocs
Vlavi
Heritage
[Archive]
(Project Name) PEN UMB ANT
(Type) BA Thesis Project
(Format) Installation
(Components) Guide Book, Reaserch Text Book, Map Posters, Cyanotypes
(Books Dimensions) 2:3, 16x24cm (Typography) Arimo —Steve Matteson, Source Sans Pro—Paul D. Hunt/Adobe Originals
(Printing Method) Digital Printing, Cyanotype (Paper) Munken Print White 80gsm, Conqueror Connoisseur Soft White, 300gsm, Colorplan New Blue, 270gsm (Process & Materials) Digital & Physical, Mixed Media, Wood, Leica Slide Projector, Bedsheets
(Supervision) Dimitris Stefanidis
(Recognition) Merit Award, EBGE—Greek Graphic Design and Illustration Awards
(Brief) PEN, UMB, ANT is a research guide, through parallel reality. It introduces the world of shadows as shifting entities that challenge the concept of existence through three stages—penumbra (pre-shadow), umbra (shadow), and antumbra (post-shadow).
(Concept) It examines how shadows, while part of daily life, often remain unnoticed and overlooked. The project is divided into two volumes, focusing on the Acropolis and Mykonos, two places that tend to change continuously yet remain static. An audiovisual installation accompanies the project, using soundscapes captured during the documentation process to deepen the viewer’s experience.
(Concept Development) Retracing Robert McCabe’s 1950s photographs of Mykonos and the Acropolis, the project connects past and present, capturing shadows that transform over time. The use of cyanotype printing, preserves ephemeral moments, symbolising how shadows leave traces of memory and time, akin to cognitive impressions. The aim is to explore the connection between light, shadow, and memory, reflecting on the fluidity of perception.
(Background) The human mind constantly processes stimuli, many of which go unprocessed yet contribute to our constructed reality. Shadows symbolise this interplay of presence and absence, challenging the idea of permanence. Through this project, I aim to capture the mental process triggered by these stimuli and highlight the overlooked variability of objects' existence in relation to human perception.
(Research) The research explores light, shadow, and their metaphorical significance, including themes of the subconscious, time, and ephemerality. It draws on influential artists like André Kertész and Giorgio de Chirico, philosophers like Plato, and poets such as Robert Frost and C.P. Cavafy. The study also examines Walter Benjamin and John Berger’s ideas on memory and images, as well as McCabe’s concept of "rephotographing" to link past and present perspectives.
(Aims & Objectives) The core gesture of this study lies in understanding the variability of object existence through shadow documentation, mirroring the human mind’s function. Shadows, often overlooked, challenge the idea of fixed reality. The project ultimately poses the ontological question: "Why is an object considered more real than its shadow?"