"The loop is the infinite repetition of a very short portion of an image... a Dantean 'contrappasso': we isolate an action and force the subjects to repeat it endlessly, unable to ever free themselves from the terrible, fascinating spell."
Experiment II | Okkult Motion Pictures & The Giphoscope
THE CONCEPT
After investigating physical invisibility at nanometric scales, the research shifted to cultural invisibility. What becomes visible when we decide to curate the forgotten? Okkult transforms the most ephemeral, marginal, and disposable format of digital culture (the GIF) into an intentional artwork. In this phase, the Anthropoperiphery manifests through time and medium: the human being is reduced to a fragment trapped in an endless algorithmic loop, while infinite digital reproduction is forced to become physical, heavy, mechanical matter.
SELECTED PROJECTS
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Excerpts by Okkult Motion Pictures | Digital Archivalism (2012 - present)
The systematic recovery of forgotten footage from public archives (from early Lumière to 1950s educational films) and their transformation into aesthetic loops. An operation demonstrating that visibility is not a natural property of objects, but the result of an institutional and curatorial choice.​
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Official website: okkult.it
Okkult Motion Pictures on Giphy: giphy.com/okkultmotionpictures
​The Giphoscope (2013 - present)
The world's first analog GIF player. A handcrafted mechanical apparatus engineered to force digital ephemerality into a durable physical state. In an era of infinite and passive reproduction, the device requires kinetic human intervention (the crank) to actuate the image, reversing the contemporary dynamics of technological consumption.
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​Official website: www.giphoscope.com
​Talking GIFs (2015)
An experimental protocol integrating animated GIFs and hidden audio via PhonoPaper technology. Degraded voice messages (e.g., "I'm in a loop. Stop me please") are extracted only by optically scanning the code, exposing the gap between the visual surface and the underlying algorithmic infrastructure.
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Read the article on Vice: www.vice.com/en/article/these-gifs-can-talk/
