DARK ADAPTATION

Dark Adaptation extends the exploration of experimental optical techniques begun by Chris Gehman in Refraction Series (2008). Working with simple, everyday materials, Gehman produces rich and surprising images of pure prismatic color in motion. Rooted in the scientific experiments and writings of Ibn al-Haytham and Isaac Newton, these films apply optical phenomena familiar from everyday life – such as thin-film interference, chromatic splitting, and refraction through glass – to the cinema. The results of Gehman’s experiments in the studio are structured as a form of visual music, complemented by a soundscape composed by musician and composer Graham Stewart. The film’s title refers to the human eye’s adaptation to conditions of darkness by becoming more sensitive to low levels of light. Working in a darkened studio with a single light source and shooting on 16mm reversal film, Gehman explores visual phenomena at the edge of perceptibility, creating analogues for images experienced with the eyes closed. The film proposes that powerful images can be generated by the body’s own systems; in this sense, Dark Adaptation represents an epic interior journey.