(Duration 5:08 mn.  FLIR thermal video, 2024).
 

“Font of Knowledge: Visual Vertigo & Oceanic Feeling” introduces a multilayered interpretation. Font refers not only to typographic characters but also alludes to a fountain, a source or origin. The term comes from the Middle English fonte, derived from Latin fons, fontis, meaning: spring or source. This shared root underlies the dual meaning of font (typography) and fount (source), linking the idea of a knowledge origin with the medium through which knowledge is conveyed.

When using thermal cameras, certain elements or targets appear because these devices detect and display variations in temperature. These areas of particular heat or cold are inherent to thermal imaging, which visualizes infrared radiation emitted by objects.

In this work, which involves frame-by-frame animation with thermal videography, these thermal targets posed challenges. To address them, I employed an editing technique akin to using an eraser as a brush, removing targets frame by frame while creatively reshaping each image.

Central to the piece are images from a private collection of autochromes (1910–1930) depicting Christian missions in the Holy City and baptism sites in Tiberias, Israel. These historical images are revitalized through animation, which acts as a form of visual resuscitation.

At the core of the video is the concept of visual vertigo, a phenomenon where conflicting visual and vestibular cues cause disorientation. In a religious context, such sensations can evoke the “oceanic feeling,” a psychoanalytic term describing ego dissolution and a sense of oneness with the universe. The stroboscopic motion in the video amplifies this effect, forging a link to the oceanic experience. The sound design blends Russian Orthodox and Jewish liturgies with contemporary music, including Poulenc's Christmas Motet, recorded live in Jerusalem’s Old City.

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