Observer, Observed

Julia Phillips works in ceramics and metal to create objects and scenes that are intimately connected to the body. Her sculptures propose support structures for the human form while emphasizing its absence. She makes impressions of the body in the form of casts of limbs, handprints, and other corporeal traces. Though evocative of physical functions and experiences, her work highlights power relations between individuals— and between individuals and institutions—functioning as a metaphor for social and psychological experiences. For example, for her recent Observer II, Phillips cites Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window as a source of inspiration. The sculpture, a set of ceramic binoculars on a stainless steel stand, questions the responsibility inherent in the act of observing, whether in an intimate situation or an anonymous one, like lurking on social media.

For the High Line, Phillips expands on this previous work with Observer, Observed, playing on publicly accessible binocular towers commonly found at tourist and scenic destinations. Phillips crafts a custom shape set of binoculars, cast in bronze and attached to an adjustable metal support structure, installed on the Flyover at 26th Street. Visitors can interact with the sculpture by looking through the binoculars onto the adjacent streets and buildings—while a nearby LED screen transmits live footage of the visitor’s eyes, captured by a camera inside the binoculars. The title of the work, Observer, Observed, refers to the power dynamics at play between perception and spectatorship in public space.

Organized by Cecilia Alemani, Donald R. Mullen, Jr. Director & Chief Curator of High Line Art.