Invisible People

Opening today, Saturday, November 16 at 12:30 pm (now, as I write this) is a tour de force by Rebeca Bashly. Entitled Invisible People, the artwork is situated throughout Lost Town (La Città Perduta), a space curated by sivi Kelberry and AKILAE Gant, which has had a string of excellent recent artistic installations. What Rebeca has installed are twenty-one people—just people you might see as you roam around a small city square—partaking in various activities. (Click on these images to zoom in.)

As Rebeca says:
    This is a story, presented thru camouflage body art,
    about all those people that you pass by
    on the streets every day and never notice them...

The trick in seeing the artwork is that it must be seen from a very specific angle. The middle and lower photos here are of the same location—you'll notice one person sleeping on a bench, while another walks along with a basket and cane. What Rebeca has done, remarkably, is to wrap the figures with the textures behind them, but only from a certain vantage point. You'll notice in the middle photo that the figure walking isn't seen correctly—the texture isn't visible, but it is on the figure on the bench. In the third image, it's the walker with the cane who is captured correctly. As the textures align, the figures meld with the back and, in a way, seem to partly disappear. It can take a little time to get the textures to align precisely, and it's delightful fun. Rebeca adds that visitors who correctly document all twenty-one invisible people will receive a free sculpture from her.