Astral Prison

Miguel Lorenzo Uy critically explores the complex relationship humans have with technology. In his Astral Prison, 2023 series, each “star” in the image is actually a photograph of lights created by the flash of a smartphone or DLSR camera. Digitally manipulating these photographs into a collage of twinkling stars scattered around a black void of various digital displays, Uy imagines a cosmos. The work engages with the way screens mediate our digital experience, making information more democratic and accessible but also hindering social interaction and altering behaviour.  This is referred to by the work’s paradoxical title, where “astral” connotes the infinite possibilities of space and time while “prison” alludes to the  confines that prevent us from connecting fully with each other.