The advantage I have from studying filmmaking is that I get exposed to all the old Hollywood tricks for creating illusions. Scenes from movies like North by Northwest used rear projection to create effects in the studio that made it look like Cary Grant is being chased by a crop duster. Car scenes are routinely filmed with projected backgrounds to simulate movement. For this image I pulled out a dusty old chess set that my father gave me as a child and set it up on some apple boxes that were stacked high enough to push the back edge next to a computer screen. I projected an AI generated throne room and used window light to match the look of the background and made this illusion in my camera.
I’ve been rewatching the television series West Wing and I think all great leaders have to be excellent at playing chess. I never matured into a good chess player, just good enough to appreciate the strategy. I guess that’s why I’m an artist and not a politician.
