“Open My Eyes”

The title refers to the Spanish film Abre los Ojos by Alejandro Amenábar. The phrase remained with me for years. A simple instruction that feels both intimate and disorienting.

This work was created during an artist-in-residence on Ibiza, hosted by a Dutch couple whose lives move between the island and Amsterdam. He is an interior architect; she spoke of occasionally missing the atmosphere of their home on the Prinsengracht.

The piece reflects on distance and orientation. On how memory can be activated rather than merely recalled.

At its core is a thaumatrope. An eye constructed from layered wood, mounted in marble and brass. When spun, two separate images merge into one. When still, they divide again.

Embedded within the eye is a photograph of their Amsterdam home. The image appears through motion. A small mechanism that allows two places to coexist.

The object operates as a tactile instrument for memory. Vision here is not passive. It requires movement.

Material: marble, brass, glass, wood
30 × 20 × 8 cm