speculum obscurum

1. Cor. 13.12
For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

Hold up a dark glass with a light behind it, and you will see whatever is on the other side, if only dimly or partially, as in St. Paul's speculum obscurum . If the light is in front of the glass, nothing behind it will be visible, but your reflection will be discernible on its surface, as in a polished mirror. Shattter the glass, and each broken shard will be transparent or reflective, depending upon its position. The human face acts like a dark glass that is alternately transparent, reflective and fractured.

Preface // Ghost in the Shell // Photography and the human soul// Sobieszek // MIT Press



black holes/ white walls ... D/G