BOOK:I See That I See What You Don’t See-Het Nieuwe Instituut

The book “I See That I See What You Don’t See” presents a layered, non-binary perspective on darkness. Navigating cosmic, automated, and seemingly invisible environments, this publication examines what we do not generally get (or choose) to see, and the consequences of these choices on notions of visibility, oppression, and emancipation. In this publication, the exercise of seeing and revealing what generally remains concealed purposely avoids the metaphor of light as wisdom and knowledge. Instead, its contributors aim for an increased understanding of the contrasting effects of light access, deprivation, and overexposure on different bodies, including the influence of radiation on human and non-human behaviours, our coexistence with the invisible yet pervasive architecture of the digital, instances of synchronicity with the cosmos, and the role of design in these areas. All of these narratives construct a fragmented representation of our contemporary landscape as a hyperconnected and controlled environment; one that is the result of persistent acts of design, one where borders between nature, ecology, technology, and culture increasingly fade, and one that alters the body’s relationship with the cycles of light and darkness.-Efi Michalarou