Nothing Exists Until It Moves is a 9-minute film presented inside a sculptural viewing box

inspired by the Mutoscope - a pre cinematic viewing device of the late 19th Century.

The work uses a computer vision technique called frame differencing to extract and

emphasise all movement within a moving image. A body encounters an unseen

environment, revealed only through its disturbance. The earth shifts, stones scatter, and

bushes tremble toward consciousness, unveiling the subtle violence of existence.

About the Viewing Box

The structure housing the film is based on the historical Mutoscope. Patented in 1894

and commonly found in arcades and public spaces. Instead of projecting film, the

Mutoscope used a sequence of printed images mounted on a rotating drum. Viewers

would look into a peephole and turn a hand crank, causing the images to flip rapidly and

create the illusion of motion. This installation reinterprets that intimate, one-to-one

viewing experience. The box creates a contained space where the act of looking

becomes physical and focused, echoing early cinematic encounters while using

contemporary moving image technology.

Film: Hutchinson|Kemp

Mutoscope sculpture designed and built by Nico Nieuwstraten

3D Printing: Ger Walsh, Fab Lab Limerick

Poster Printing: The Bigger Picture, Cork, Ireland.