Avatar
2019
Animation, print, plexiglass, wood
23 3/8 x 19 1/2 in (59.4 x 49.8 cm)
Unique edition

Avatar combines a black and white photograph and an animation. In the upper right corner, a large chunk of the print is missing including the frame. Along its pixelated edges, a projection sparkles with vivid pixels, filling in part of the negative space on the wall. The scale of the portrait matches that of the viewer. Originally taken in the first half of twentieth century, this picture incorporates an analog technology. Philippe Safire juxtaposes the film grain with the digital pixel. The dematerialization of the object is in progress. Avatar visually foregrounds an altered identity, a cultural shift. With this work, the artist examines the transition to the Digital Age.