Sean Wilkinson: Imag(in)ing

Sean Wilkinson

Beyond the frame.

APRIL 27 – MAY 1, 2015

Artist Statement

I created this installation with the intent of linking art and science to create an understanding of visual information that is both aesthetic and analytic. For the past several years, these interdisciplinary interests have influenced much of my work. I saw the honors process as a perfect opportunity to merge my fascination with science and art in a studied, deliberate fashion. At its core, this selection of work is designed to articulate the incomplete nature of the mechanical eye by requiring the human eye to re-examine the information fixed within a frame.

For this exhibition I’ve drawn inspiration from the intense detail of modern microscopy and Eadweard Muybridge’s nineteenth century innovative motion studies. The still and video images are visually similar, and merge at first glance. However, the concept of photographic representation is questioned and stretched through the comparison of the two forms of portraiture. The photographs are static and thematize the medium’s inherently limited perspective while the high frame rate video attempts to overcome technological constraints by capturing an overwhelming quantity of visual information. Combining them emphasizes the gap between human visual experience and photographic representation and compels the viewer to re-evaluate their role in interpreting each image. Photography’s potential to communicate is vitally dependent on the viewer’s understanding of the medium, and with that understanding the viewer can contextualize the image and derive insight beyond the frame.

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About the Artist

Sean Wilkinson is a senior studio art major and biology minor. He was born and raised in Mill Valley, California and moved to Winston-Salem, North Carolina after being recruited by the Wake Forest Men’s Soccer Team. Outside the fields of Spry Stadium, Sean took his documentary film experience from high school as inspiration to continue with video and at the start of his sophomore year delved into still photography. Portraits are his greatest fascination and the vast majority of his work reflects that interest. He has enjoyed utilizing his time at Wake Forest University to connect and collaborate with creatively minded individuals and is excited to take those experiences into post-graduate life.