How the books we read influenced our 1000 Eyes Collection
Literature Reference for 1000 Eyes Image_1
We have constantly found that literature provides a great inspiration for our work. With the 1000 Eyes collection we all had books or readings we turned to that helped inspire this set of work.
The symbolism of eyes and the all-seeing eye in literature is used to represent various themes, including the idea of being watched or monitored by religious institutions, governments, big tech companies, branding, and marketing organizations.
The collective explored these themes using some of our favourite various novels; including "1984," "The Great Gatsby," "Invisible Man," "Lord of the Rings," and "Brave New World."
In "1984" by George Orwell, the government's all-seeing eye is represented through the telescreens that monitor the actions and thoughts of the citizens. This symbolizes the idea of Big Brother watching over the citizens and represents the government's control and surveillance. Winston Smith, is constantly monitored by the Thought Police through the use of technology, which are cameras and microphones that are placed in every home and workplace. This creates a sense of paranoia and unease, as the characters are always aware that they are being watched and monitored. We will come back to some of these topics in later blog posts when we will discuss the influence of on Big Tech and Government on our 1000 Eyes Collection
Themes explored in 1984 are also picked up in "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley: The all-seeing eye is represented in this novel through the use of cameras and other forms of surveillance technology that monitor the actions of citizens. The novel explores the theme of being watched and controlled by larger organizations, representing the dangers of a totalitarian state.
In one of our best loved novels "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg on a billboard symbolize the idea of being watched by society. The eyes are described as "blue and gigantic," representing the all-seeing eye of judgment that watches over the characters' actions and that of hedonistic society of roaring 20’s . We love this symbolism and its constant reference in the book.
"Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison: The novel explores the theme of being watched and monitored by society, particularly through the eyes of the narrator. The narrator experiences being watched and monitored by various organizations, including the government and religious institutions, which symbolize the idea of being watched by larger powers.
We also love the character of Zaphod Beeblebrox in "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams - Zaphod Beeblebrox has two heads and is often described as having "crazy eyes." This perfectly conveys his unpredictability and eccentricity--- Also something we wanted to portray in some of the illustrations and images of the eyes we wanted to depict in the collection
One of our most read books (And Watched Films😊) Lord of the Rings gave us lots of inspiration for the our 100 eyes collection and for many of the images we created. The most prominent and central use of the eye symbol/image is the Eye of Sauron. This is a powerful and malevolent symbol of surveillance, control, and evil. It represents Sauron's all-seeing and all-knowing presence, as well as his desire for dominance and conquest. The Eye of Sauron is depicted as a fiery, lidless eye, often depicted on the tower of Barad-dûr in Mordor. It is a symbol of fear and oppression, and it serves to unify the various evil forces in the story under Sauron's rule.
We have tried to provide a few example of books and novels we have used for this collection of work. There are many many more which we could talk about but have not listed that also played a role in providing lots of inspiration. This may be something we return to in later blog posts.
Keep reading to keep creating 😊
