Piercing The Veil

"Piercing the Veil" it's a series of paintings by artist Ashley Dequilla made for the Asian and Pacific Islander Domestic Violence Research Project. The idea of the series is to expose the stories and experiences of these women. Dequilla expresses that the purpose of invisible ink and UV light in the paintings is to highlight that every story has a dark side hidden to plain sight and we need to come closer to understand these stories in order to see what's behind it. Based on this, I proposed to her that the idea of 'coming closer' to the paintings and the stories can be heightened by the use of interactive technologies, creating a more unique and profound experience in which the viewer can appreciate the meaning behind it in broader ways. "Piercing the Veil" it's an interactive and collaborative installation between Dequilla and me, combining her paintings with a set of LED and UV lights which switch back and forth to reveal details in the paintings that were made with invisible ink. The lights are triggered by a movement sensor that the viewer activates when standing in front of the paintings and moving closer to them.