Institutional Presentation Statement

Macular is a collective of artists who share an interest in art, science, technology, and perception. The members of the collective collaborate on the creation and production of multi-sensorial immersive artworks. The collective functions as a nomadic lab in which the members do research and develop the technology and theory needed to create their works.

Light and motion are two of the main elements that link the works of the artists. Light is used as a direct source of emission and as a form of projection to generate morphing shapes, fields, and patterns. Flicker inducing stroboscopic light, oscillating through the color spectrum, is employed to create hallucinatory choreographies of shadows and colors, which trigger states of mental uncertainty. The works are often accompanied by a sonic component that is either a direct result of the light producing processes or connected on a perceptual and conceptual level. This multi-sensory approach is characteristic of the collective’s interest in the biology, psychology, and phenomenology of perception.

Macular’s body of work can be placed in the historical lineage of expanded cinema as it relates to lumia and visual music. In addition to their installations, the collective uses their work as instruments for live performance, taking the notion of musical thinking and inserting it into other media in order to create generative compositions in light, movement, and sound.

• Nicky Assmann, Rotterdam, Netherlands, is a visual artist working with the immaterial and intangible character of light, color, and motion in spatial installations, through which she tries to heighten perception. She is a member of Macular.
• Eric Parren is an interdisciplinary artist operating out of Shanghai. He is a founding member of Macular and an Assistant Arts Professor at NYU Shanghai, China, where he teaches courses on light art, kinetic art, and physical computing.