David Lawrey & Jaki Middleton, Forever and ever and ever, kinetic sculpture, 2007. Audio sampled from The Shining (1980) trailer. Video: the artists.
Forever and Ever and Ever is a kinetic sculpture that reimagines the pre-cinematic Thaumatrope, a spinning disc that merges two images through rapid motion. The work replaces the spectral twins from The Shining (1980) with Diane Arbus’ Identical Twins (1967), integrating them into Kubrick’s unsettling universe. Arbus’ photograph, often associated with themes of psychological duality and the uncanny, takes on a new layer when inserted into Kubrick’s iconic scene. As the image flips, the boundaries between documentary photography and cinematic horror blur, collapsing the two references. The work explores how cultural memory and cinema shape our perception of the familiar.

'Forever and ever and ever', kinetic sculpture, 2007 (installation view). Photo: the artists.

'Forever and ever and ever', kinetic sculpture, 2007 (installation view). Photo: the artists.

'Forever and ever and ever', kinetic sculpture, 2007 (detail). Photo: the artists.

'Forever and ever and ever', kinetic sculpture, 2007 (detail). Photo: the artists.

'Forever and ever and ever', kinetic sculpture, 2007 (installation view). Photo: the artists.