Rosa Barba Eyes on the Syllabus, 2024
Steel, glass, motors, 35 mm film, aluminum
100 x 140 x 12 cm
Eyes on the Syllabus consists of a framed glass box in which strips of celluloid with lettering are in constant movement. The ends of the film strips are fastened inside to spools distributed across the frame's surface. As these spools turn, the celluloid wounds around the spool. This process lets the film strips tighten and loosen in an ongoing play of lines and letters, recomposing the text as the film strips overlap each other. As the strips have different lengths, their movement also differs, as does the time it takes for them to be coiled to the point of straightening and forming horizontal lines. At a certain interval, all strips of celluloid are briefly taut at the same moment and therefore in alignment.