In Terry Flaxton’s Stained Glass Nature, the screen is filled with patterns; whether fractals, digital effects, or the surface of glass is not clear. Stained Glass Nature is neither natural nor of stained glass, but like much art has the semblance of or is a simulacrum of the thing that it replaces. In this work, the viewer is invited to ponder unfolding details, relationships between simulacra, over time; duration is an important component.

A statement made by Bill Viola has informed Stained Glass Nature and has special relevance to time based forms: “Duration is to Consciousness as light is to the eye”. Simply to look for longer than usual will reveal things missed by a slighter glance. When one uses a durational gaze for durational media, taking the time to look, this places the audience in a different part of the spectrum than, for instance, a painter does with painting - and soon the abstracting of the original simply by looking with attention – will replace the original and allow what is hidden behind, to come through.