About the Exhibition
Based on the principles of the camera obscura, Subway Obscura by Joel Katz uses existing ventilation grates, ambient light and simple optics to turn the Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall subway station into a giant camera.
A system composed of four mirrors (each 30” x 51”) and a large acrylic lens (27” x 32”) utilizes available daylight to transfer images of the cityscape at the intersection of Chambers and Centre Streets onto a screen above the downtown 4-5-6 subway platform inside the station. The live images are projected onto a two-way screen suspended over the subway platform and will be visible when adequate light is available. A metal construction atop a ventilation grate, which houses one of the mirrors, is the only element of Subway Obscura that can be seen above ground.