Reflection hologram and reproduction.
Silver halide on glass.
 

Edition # 2/50

In this portrait, holographic patterns on the face of the artist are combined with the stripes on a tiger's head. A vertical strip dividing the tiger's mask aligns both animal and human eyes, to create a haunting image. The light and dark patterns are produced by putting the pulsed laser into "double-pulse" mode.

Double-pulsed holography is exciting because for the first time we have a chance to see the contours of our inner and outer body movements. The movement of the subject in between two exposures (twenty billionths of a second apart) is directly visible on the skin. Subtle muscle stress, breathing, the beating of the heart, and in this work a cat-like smile, can be captured. Scientists use the technique for non-destructive testing on machines, but this art work records the lineaments of human emotion. There is an affinity with ancient wooden sculptures, sometimes so worn away that the woodgrain is clearly visible on the face.