While it may seem like an impossible task, American conceptual artist Jonathon Keats has worked out a way to capture 100 years in a single photograph, but it also requires the help of 100 others.
For his epic, century-long project, Keats designed 100 super-long exposure pinhole cameras and handed them out to 100 Berlin citizens. He then instructed them to leave the specially-rigged cameras in a location of their choice across Berlin. If no one removes the cameras from their designated spots, the "spy cameras" will successfully document Berlin's changing landscape over the next hundred years.
Image via PSFK on Twitter
“If you have a camera directed towards some houses and those houses get bulldozed after 25 years and they build a skyscraper, what you’ll see are just the ghosts of the houses, a shadow of the houses," Keats explained in a press release. "The skyscraper will be bolder in the same image. It’ll be a double exposure in effect.”
Keats has asked the participating Berliners to watch over the locations of his long-exposure cameras and ensure that the devices survive until a century from now. He has also requested each of his participants to leave instructions for a child to retrieve the camera when the time comes.
In the year 2114, descendants of Keats' photographers will hand in the cameras to Berlin's Team Titanic Gallery in exchange for the return of their family's $14 security deposits. The developed images will then be displayed in an exhibition entitled "CenturyCamera," set to open May 16, 2114. Sadly, many of us won't live to see the images, but the whole concept is pretty awesome.
[via artnet News]
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