Drawing from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) as well as the researchers who study it, “with mercurial vision” allows one to step into the ebb and flow of observation, notation, and revelation. This multi-channel, mixed media installation takes its structural cues from two types of transmutation: the JWST’s image processing and human data processing. The JWST interprets space imagery with its infrared spectrometer, where light bounces through the instrument and changes shape before reaching the human eye. Metamorphosis dually occurs through the JWST’s researchers as their minds absorb and refine new data. “with mercurial vision” serves as an amalgam of both processes, allowing participants to enter an environment where their surroundings float and fluctuate. The installation includes found objects from the Pittsburgh Center for Creative Reuse. They are arranged—both physically and digitally—in abstract homages to Rachel Bezanson’s mosaics, images taken from the JWST that depict vast regions of the cosmos. The sound design for the piece is generated from common language that members of Bezanson’s research lab use to describe their personal research practices. Through dynamic immersion, “with mercurial vision” investigates the interplay between transformative cognition and cosmic inquiry.
Gia Abucejo is an interdisciplinary artist and third year film and media, art history, and studio arts student. Her work meshes dreamscapes, technologies, and mythos as a means of decoding our bodily reality. While balancing undergraduate life, she has exhibited pieces locally, nationally, and internationally. Past locations include Silver Eye Center for Photography in Pittsburgh, :iidrr Gallery in New York City, and Immix Galerie in Paris, France. Her video work, “Shield Ambiance,” was recently awarded “Best Imaginative Transformation: Exceptional Storytelling in Experimental Art Video” by the Feminist Border Arts Film Festival. Currently, Gia is working as the video artist for Mita Ghosal’s “Lost on a Loom,” an original dance-theater project to be performed at Kelly Strayhorn Theater’s Alloy Studios in May 2024.
Faculty Researcher: Rachel Bezanson
Artistic Advisor: Sarah Moore
