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

Installation view: The ‘Strange Lecture’ of Professor Pepper, Safe House, Peckham, London, 2020

✝︎ from Expostulation and Reply, William Wordsworth, 1798

‡ from The Tables Turned, William Wordsworth, 1798