#HTE

Reader Submitted: Compound Camera: An Inflatable Environment Composed of 109 Pinhole Cameras 

The Compound Camera is a twenty-foot inflatable installation composed of 109 pinhole cameras, each of which projects a slightly different view of the surrounding environment onto its interior surface. The structure’s flexible fabric invites visitors to push on and distort the projected images, allowing them to play with the fundamental properties of light, optics, and vision in a tangible way. In our increasingly digital world, the Compound Camera offers an analogue perspective; it reminds us that relatively simple construction methods and old technologies can continue to profoundly impact how we perceive our surroundings.

Opaque Exterior

From the outside, the Compound Camera looks like an opaque, dark space.

Credit: Cassidy Batiz

Fully Transparent Interior

Once inside, the interior wall disappears into a patchwork of the exterior world.

Credit: Cassidy Batiz

Soft to the Touch

The piece is inviting to touch since it is a soft and squishy inflatable.

Credit: Cassidy Batiz

All Encompassing

The piece is an immersive experience, inviting visitors to look all around.

Credit: Cassidy Batiz

Fully Analog

Most people find the analog nature of the Compound Camera unbelievable. They find that touching the surfaces helps them understand that there is no digital equipment embedded within it.

Credit: Cassidy Batiz

Interactive

Visitors can focus on different elements of the “scene” by pushing into the inflated cells.

Credit: Cassidy Batiz

Bulbous Shapes

The inflated form creates a naturally organic surface.

Credit: Cassidy Batiz

Fragmented Reality

Each camera captures an image that is mostly the same as the cameras surrounding it, creating a surreal, fragmented reality.

Credit: Cassidy Batiz

Diagram of Exposure

Fluctuating being shade and sunlight, the Compound Camera is a physical diagram of how exposure works in cameras.

Credit: Cassidy Batiz

Fly’s Eye

The cells are arranged in a geodesic pattern to form a dome, giving viewers an experience that can be compared to being inside a fly’s eye.

Credit: Cassidy Batiz