Pyro Optics

Pyro Optics is a lens-based installation where fire becomes image. A single large Fresnel lens projects the light of a live gas flame, bending and magnifying it into a vivid, ever-changing projection. There is no screen, no circuitry, just fire, lens, and light.

Ayşe Emre explores the roots of photography and projection through analog means. Pyro Optics reflects on how image-making can be direct and elemental, using simple tools to create a compelling visual phenomenon. The work embraces a slower, physical form of technology that invites observation and reawakens curiosity.

By engaging with early optical techniques, the installation offers space for viewers to reconsider how we see and how even the most familiar technologies, like a lens, can still hold the power to surprise.

2025