In the Switch Series we are mesmerized by the moment a cathode ray tube TV is being turned off - that fleeting moment when the picture contracts, collapses until it becomes just a colored dot. At this particular moment a memory of the image persists.

To capture this, we use a digital camera recording each stage from full picture to totally blank screen.

These video shots become a ritual as we travel through the American southwest. From town to town, from one motel to another, from room to room, we turn out the lights, set up the ironing board and place the camera on the ice bucket (chocked by using a book of matches from the motel). Then we lay on the bed, successively switching the television on and off for a continuous period of one hour.

Later on we sift through the rushes, image by image, choosing this crucial moment where the image turns into light, breaks down into colors - the primary colors (RGB) of the additive synthesis.

The titles of the Switch Series refer to the towns where we stayed: Alpine, TX - White’s City, NM - Alamogordo, NM - Santa Fe, NM.

SWITCH FROM MOTELS TO THE STUDIO