How often do we stop to not only see what is in a shop window behind the glass but also what on the shiny surface of the window pane? Have you ever counted how many more or less blurred images you can see in one window? Moved a little back and forth and felt it was almost like a kaleidoscope?

I take interest in mirrors!

Here is an example, a photo of a furniture shop window decorated with a easel on which there is a painting of actress Lauren Bacall. The shop window also show what is opposite on the other side of the street, name the totally amazing Guggenheim Museum. I’ve taken you to Bilbao, Spain!

© Jan Oberg 2009

“Bacall in Bilbao” 2009
Inkjet print on Canson fine arts paper or on canvas
Formats & prices (excl postage):
A5 (148 × 210 mm) – Edition unlimited, 20 US$
A4 (210 × 297 mm) – Edition 50, US$ 115
A3+ (329 x 483 mm) – Edition 25, US$ 225
A1 (610 x 910 mm) – Edition 10, US$ 750
Signed and numbered.
Comes with print authenticity documentation.
Information/Order: janoberg@mac.com

Mirrors can be seen as mere reflections, but there is more to them. When you see a person face-to-face and then see that same person’s face-in-mirror, you see how that mirror reshapes that face. Glasses of, say, shop windows also mirror what is opposite but at the same time you see what is behind the glass. That comes closer to collage, or layers of images. Its third function is to be glass that catches light, for instance the sun’s rays.

If we stick to the the idea that seeing and re-seeing the world around us is a major reason why we create images (photography as well as painting, drawings, etc), such more or less shiny surfaces become fascinating: new worlds and new combinations appear for those with a searching eye!

I’ve printed the Lauren Bacall mirror image on fine arts paper (see above) but als as a unique inkjet print on aluminium (one of print media I experiment with).

I did that to experiment with the “double” mirror effect. Aluminium has a semi-shiny surface and, thus, adds yet another dimension: the way this mirror image comes across to you depends very much on how light falls on it, on where you stand in relation to the aluminium, and even on which colours you wear in front of it. Thus, many pictures in one!

© Jan Oberg 2009

Info and price

I hope you’ll search for more mirrors in your life and see more of our enigmatic world than your own face!