THE ‘STRANGE LECTURE’ OF PROFESSOR PEPPER

The eye – it cannot choose but see.
We cannot bid the ear be still.
Our bodies feel, where'er they be,
Against, or with our will.
Nor less I deem that there are powers
Which of themselves our minds impress;
That we can feed this mind of ours
In a wide passiveness. ✝︎

(Heed this)

Enough of Science and of Art
Close up these barren leaves
Come forth, and bring with you a heart
That watches and receives. ‡

——

A son-et-lumière audio visual installation that channels the spirit of John Henry Pepper. Scientist, inventor and director of the Royal Polytechnic Institution, Professor Pepper was a prominent figure in Victorian London. Renowned for his theatrical showmanship, he staged phantasmagoria and patented a visual illusion that became known as Pepper's Ghost widely used today in theatres and performances. This manifestation paradoxically utilises technology to help Pepper himself return as a ghost and urge us to set aside science and art.

Single channel video, stereo sound, 3.20 mins, 2021

Stills from film, 2021

The ‘Strange Lecture’ of Professor Pepper, installation at Safe House, Peckham, London, 2020

✝︎ from Expostulation and Reply, William Wordsworth, 1798

‡ from The Tables Turned, William Wordsworth, 1798