PUBLICATIONS

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GAME CAMERA

NINA WIESNAGROTZKI

Nina Wiesnagrotzki’s publication, “Game Camera” (2018), begins with the story of a researcher who observes the mating activities of toads. Mysteriously, the entire nest of toads has abandoned their breeding site shortly before an earthquake occured. Soon after the last significant aftershock, they successively returned. In this short story, the mythological and the real merge. In countless myths, animals like elephants, snakes, fish, scorpions or tortoises are attributed agency in causing earthquakes. Whereas in real life the creatures, adept at detecting environmental changes, provide warnings of coming seismic activity.

In her present work, Wiesnagrotzki investigates the role of mythology through the history of science and technology. “Game Camera” arose from her ongoing consideration on the world’s first seismic instrument used to forecast earthquakes. Invented in China around 100 A.D., it is distinguished by the inclusion of symbolic figures: eight toads and eight dragons are circularly placed along the outside of a hollow metal sphere, as embodiments representing the universal and complementary forces of “Ying” and “Yang”. However, this seismic device apparently never worked.

“Game Camera” lends its title from a pocket-sized recording device, that is commonly used in field studies of animals. Its surface often bears a camouflage pattern in order to blend with the natural environment when attached to a peg or a tree. A game camera facilitates observation without being seen. Through its monocular vision a narrative unfolds, that includes but extends beyond the world of human perception.