Olho Mágico / Peephole

The exhibition “Potlatch” launched the Estou Cá project, curated by Paulo Miyada. All interested members of the public were invited to take part in the ritual that gives the exhibition its name, in which two individuals, clans, or groups exchange their most precious possessions for others of equal value — with value defined entirely subjectively by their owners. At SESC Belenzinho, participants "traded" all kinds of personal objects for a 20-minute conversation with one of the exhibition’s curators — Paulo Miyada, Juliana Biscalquin, Carolina de Angelis, and Yudi Rafael.

Still within the research project “Where is design in mediation?”, Amanda Cuesta and I observed that visitors under 90 cm tall were unable to access the objects displayed on the countertops in the space. Aiming to provide access to these objects and foster new relationships with the exhibition, we created “Olho Mágico” (“Peephole”) — a set of monocular viewers containing images of the artworks placed above the 90 cm height.

Considering that the Belenzinho unit regularly receives a steady family audience and that children confidently and actively occupy the spaces, the monocular viewers were incorporated into the exhibition based on the following premises:

1) experimentation and display of what might go unnoticed — even by those who do have access to the object;

2) occupation of the exhibition space with 44 viewers, placed in close proximity to the objects;

3) ensuring that visitors under 90 cm tall had privileged access to the monoculars, often prompting adults to crouch down in order to follow the younger ones' exploration.

Project: Olho Mágico // Peephole
Research: Where is design in mediation?
Project authors: Amanda Cuesta and Clara Zamith
Research author: Clara Zamith
Viewing devices: Amanda Cuesta
Graphic design and photography: Clara Zamith
Year: 2016

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