Poppies Will Put Them to Sleep (2024)

• 80%
• 2024
• Jeffrey Steven Moser

The world of Oz is filled with many spheres—from crystal balls and floating orbs to the great cranial dome of the Wizard and his hot air balloon. This appropriated sequence from The Wizard of Oz has been transformed from a two-dimensional projection onto a three-dimensional sphere. The topography of the planetoid is created by the fluctuating brightness levels of individual pixels—the brighter the image, the higher the surface, distorting and obstructing the image as it is rotated around its axis. The alternating pattern of recognizable, iconic imagery and abstract, sculptural form creates a new kind of stellar object, hanging in open space. The scene, in which Dorothy and the gang run across a poppy field only to be drugged by the Wicked Witch, becomes a Christmas ornament or a snow globe, slowly spinning in celebration of the film. The rippling surface of the floating orb is created as the camera and its subjects move across the frame.