Jenny Owens
El pavo real, 2016, ´00.53 min, digital video with 54 still frames in black and white without sound.
The Peacock in The Centre of Contemporary Art, Fabra i Coats, Barcelona.
This video used technology to slow down animal movement in order to understand what was going on when a peacock perceived the presence of a viewer. Many times events happen too quickly for us to really grasp what has happened. By pausing time we can analyze more closely that which is difficult to see with the human eye in real time. This is a video made up of 54 images. Each image is shown for one second in chronological order. The Peacock is a metaphor for how humans behave when they are being observed for too long. Perhaps in the beginning we like the attention, but when we are looked at for too long, or the gaze is too intense, we try to escape. Therefore, the work also tries to question where the limit is between private and public spheres.