Opaque

Acrylic, 8" IPS panel, Raspberry Pi 4b, Super Mario Deluxe ROM, Wireless NES Controller
14" x 8.5" x 3.5"

What if transparent tech was always just an illusion?

My new piece, Opaque, is inspired by the 1998 Game Boy Color. There was an era in the ‘90s when tech started coming in clear plastic shells. It made us feel like we could see “inside”, like we understood what was happening under the surface. But really, that transparency was an illusion, the circuitry had already become far too complex for anyone to grasp just by looking at it.

That illusion of transparency that started in the ‘90s has become much more sophisticated. Algorithms shape our our choices and even our sense of reality, and we have no idea how. That’s why I called the piece Opaque, because the technology defining our lives has become a black box.

When I was five, my dad brought home an Apple II computer, and it completely changed my life. It sparked a lifelong fascination with how we interact with technology, and how powerful and beautiful it can be. 

Opaque is both a love letter and a warning. It's a reflection on that early wonder I felt with the Apple II and a reminder of how far we’ve drifted from truly seeing inside our machines. I hope it invites people to pause and think about their own relationship with technology, and what might be disappearing beneath the surface.