These 450 Synchronized Penguins Will Soothe, Entrance, And Creep You Out

By KC Ifeanyi

"Penguins Mirror" (2015) by Daniel Rozin from bitforms gallery on Vimeo.

Look into a regular mirror, and you’ll see yourself. Look into one of interactive artist Daniel Rozin’s mirrors and you’ll probably see a penguin.

Rozin’s mirror installations are reshaping how we view art and how it views us. The New York-based artist recently caused a bit of a furry frenzy with his pom-pom mirror and now he’s using 450 motorized stuffed penguins to the same effect.

Penguins Mirror, like PomPom Mirror, employs a video camera and custom software to mimic the shapes in front of it. Why penguins, you ask? The answer is black and white, as Rozin explains:

Playing with the compositional possibilities of black and white, each penguin turns from side to side and responds to the presence of an audience. As they perform, the penguins’ collective intelligence is puzzling, yet somehow familiar, as the plush toys enact a precise choreography rooted in geometry.

Penguins Mirror, PomPom Mirror, and other of Rozin’s installations are currently on exhibition at bitforms gallery in New York City.

 
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