Mirages embody a paradox, they are both manifestations of reality and optical illusions, illustrating the fluid nature of perception. In its simplest form, a mirage is created by two air bodies of different temperatures interacting, causing light to refract. Viewers are compelled to confront the distinction between what we see and what exists, a tension that resonates deeply in our current digital landscape.
With a shared interest in environments, optics, and time, SV Randall, an assistant professor of visual and performing arts at The University of Texas at Dallas, and Sara Dittrich, an interdisciplinary artist based in Baltimore, have collaborated to create a new installation for Crow’s multimedia gallery.
The title, "[ _____ ] Mirage," pronounced "blank mirage," employs textual iconography as both a visual and conceptual device. By leaving the brackets empty, the work invites viewers to add their own interpretation of what is seen/unseen, real/unreal. The interplay between text and void becomes a mirage in itself, an illusion shaped by perception, context, and interpretation.
To inform this installation, the artists conducted fieldwork across areas of the Tularosa Basin in the southwestern United States - geographies historically associated with extreme atmospheric phenomena. At each site, they documented video of phenomena using a camera equipped with a super-telephoto zoom lens. They also collected environmental data, including humidity, temperature, pressure, and illuminance, to trace the invisible forces that condition visual phenomena.
The composition, performed by percussionists, translates these visual and environmental cues into multiple movements. Developed from an experimental graphic notation designed by the artists, the music embraces the marimba and other percussive instruments. Working closely with the performers, Randall and Dittrich shape a soundtrack built on improvisation, which reinforces the installation’s conceptual core: that perception is fluid, continually negotiated through context, movement, and the instability of what seems to be.
The exhibition will remain on display through March 1, 2026.
Mirages embody a paradox, they are both manifestations of reality and optical illusions, illustrating the fluid nature of perception. In its simplest form, a mirage is created by two air bodies of different temperatures interacting, causing light to refract. Viewers are compelled to confront the distinction between what we see and what exists, a tension that resonates deeply in our current digital landscape.
With a shared interest in environments, optics, and time, SV Randall, an assistant professor of visual and performing arts at The University of Texas at Dallas, and Sara Dittrich, an interdisciplinary artist based in Baltimore, have collaborated to create a new installation for Crow’s multimedia gallery.
The title, "[ _____ ] Mirage," pronounced "blank mirage," employs textual iconography as both a visual and conceptual device. By leaving the brackets empty, the work invites viewers to add their own interpretation of what is seen/unseen, real/unreal. The interplay between text and void becomes a mirage in itself, an illusion shaped by perception, context, and interpretation.
To inform this installation, the artists conducted fieldwork across areas of the Tularosa Basin in the southwestern United States - geographies historically associated with extreme atmospheric phenomena. At each site, they documented video of phenomena using a camera equipped with a super-telephoto zoom lens. They also collected environmental data, including humidity, temperature, pressure, and illuminance, to trace the invisible forces that condition visual phenomena.
The composition, performed by percussionists, translates these visual and environmental cues into multiple movements. Developed from an experimental graphic notation designed by the artists, the music embraces the marimba and other percussive instruments. Working closely with the performers, Randall and Dittrich shape a soundtrack built on improvisation, which reinforces the installation’s conceptual core: that perception is fluid, continually negotiated through context, movement, and the instability of what seems to be.
The exhibition will remain on display through March 1, 2026.
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