Infrared Room 2004

Carsten Höller’s ‘Infrared Room’ uses video and infrared technology to play with how we see ourselves, literally. The cool blue palette gives the piece a detached, almost clinical feel. What’s striking is how the artist uses the medium to reveal something hidden. Like he's peeling back layers of reality. The grainy texture and the way the light flickers remind me of old surveillance footage, which hints at ideas of control and observation. The figure on the screens repeats gestures in a loop, frozen in this digital space. It’s strangely compelling; you want to reach out and connect, but there’s a barrier, a distance created by the technology. Höller, like artists such as Nam June Paik, explores how technology mediates our experience, making us question what is real and what is constructed.