Joshue Ott — Uncirc (Excerpt)
Reviewed by Leah Davis

Uncirc (Excerpt) is an abstract experimental animation that straddles the line between familiar and alien; digital and organic. This was the first Electronic Dimension piece from WaveForms 2023 to strike me as something other than environmental. Immersive art tends to focus on creating spaces for audiences to inhabit. We’re then asked to step into those spaces so that we can fulfill our role as the work’s subject. Joshue Ott breaks this pattern with Uncirc (Excerpt) by coaxing a digital organism to life on the iMax screen. An arc appears in the darkness; the beginnings of a circle in motion. Geometric angles form the impression of curves. Oil-spill grays, blues, purples, and greens trail behind an angular head that moves with unknown purpose. This thing feels alive. Sentient, but not human. I’m not sure how deliberate this effect was, but Ott hints at intent: “Uncirc explores circular motion and breath using hand-drawn forms that feed an audiovisual synthesis engine.” The audience has assembled to watch an alien birth. We are witnesses, trying to learn the language of movement.  We are not the subject of this piece, but we are still responsible for it in some way. “Like caretakers,” I think. I feel fondly for this thing I don’t understand. The alien and the art.