What Do We See When We Close our Eyes?
SOLO EXHIBITION BY
Dennis Bato
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What Do We See When We Close our Eyes? Does darkness envelop the space when we close our eyes? Is it a total void or just blinding light? Are there splashes of vibrant hues or patterns? These are phenomena called phosphene, wherein our visual systems continue to process and interpret stimuli even when our visions were denied light.
Although black is often referred to as the absence of light, it may not be as dark as some see it, or a different shade as compared to others, each of us has a varying perception of it. This almost-black we visualize when we close our eyes is known as Eigengrau, a German term translating to “intrinsic gray” or “own gray”. When we close our eyes the retina; a layer of light-sensitive cells in our visual systems that record stimuli and transmits impulses through our optic nerve to the brain which compiles them into visual images, is still fully functional. For experts, phosphenes were our brain’s attempt to make sense out of the darkness. Even in the absence of light, it is believed that all organisms emit a steady rate of photons, the same goes with our retinas which respond to a very specific light; self-generated light or Biphotonic light.
In a society where there are always just two contrasting sides; light and dark, good and evil, black and white, all other notions were deemed irrelevant. Eigengrau alongside other hues and shades was often disregarded, comparable to subjectivity and individuality. One will not be accepted If not based on an imposed fabricated social system. But isn’t it funny how all of this physicality turns to darkness once we close our eyes? We relocate our consciousness to a dimension created by our very own minds, illuminated by the light our eyes emit. This absence of light delineates images of the true self, of our existence.
Dennis Bato’s “What Do We See When We Close Our Eyes?” inquire about social norms, how we see reality based on imposed structures, and his continuous exploration of individuality and connection to the purpose of existence. His works are composed of his silhouettes rendered in white paper, evidently creased on some parts. For Bato, these subtle folds and creases that seem to be defects in the works are representations of the unconscious mind that seep out arbitrarily. A warm light illuminating the work signifies dawn, and the darkness is drawing near, the darkness that reveals more than the superficial. Do we truly see when our eyes are open? What do we see when we close our eyes?
