Snail Trail

Snail Trail
Originally uploaded by ~db~

Philipp Artus’ snail trail is a 360-degree laser animation loop projected onto a column. The two-minute animation relates the story of a snail, which in response to its environment, keeps evolving new means of locomotion; ultimately inventing the wheel and eventually devolving back to its original form. The projection surface is made from a phosphorescent material creating an afterglow that slowly fades out. As a result of the phosphorescent trails, viewers can simultaneously see what happens, what has happened, and what will happen. This reflection on time is elaborated further through the endlessly cycling structure of the work as well as through the recurring pulse of sound and light, which refers to periodic natural phenomena like the tides or the seasons.