TWILIGHT SEEKER

Digital video and eye-shaped frame. Video HD, 10 min, frame 40 cm x 30 cm

Some animals sense the world through infrared vision. The sense is rare: so far, the ability to see infrared has only been found in some snakes, such as rattlesnakes and pythons.

The perception of color is affected by the wavelength of light, the light-reflecting properties of the material, and the eye, which perceives color. Humans perceive colors, i.e. wavelengths of light from violet to red. However, animals can see ultraviolet color, which has a shorter wavelength than violet, or infrared, which has a longer wavelength than red.

Snakes do not sense infrared with their eyes, but with pit organs in their snouts, which they nevertheless process as part of their visual sensations.

The artpiece aims to capture the sensory world of a snake using a thermal image of the snakes' natural prey, rabbits. The thermal image is presented on an snake-eye-shaped screen.

What would a python's view of the world be like? What would it be like to be a snake?

The Twilight Seeker is part of Leena Pukki and Karoliina Paappa's Inside Another Skin art project. Inside Another Skin combines art and research. The project addresses how different animal species observe the environment through the sense of sight and other senses.

The core of the project is to create and strengthen the experience of compassion. Humans are thought of as one animal species, whose characteristics are compared to those of other species. Inside Another Skin seeks to strengthen the possibilities for more respectful coexistence between different species.