A multilayered investigation of contemplation guides the Seeing Otherwise series by the collaborative duo Allora y Calzadilla. In these large-scale photographic images, we see various people watching a sunset by the ocean. But the perspective is displaced. The photographs have been digitally altered to represent the viewpoint of one of the people in each photo instead of that of the camera or an external viewer. On one level, these images poetically foreground the impossibility of sharing another person's perspective or reality. On another level, they address the assumptions that can cloud our interpretation of even a simple picturesque scene. At first glace, the images appear to capture tourists contemplating beautiful vistas at exotic resorts. Closer examination may reveal other perspectives—that of forlorn travelers missing home or of beleaguered residents seeking escape.
