In one of the most memorable shots in Alfred Hitchock’s Vertigo, Scottie – the protagonist – looks down the spiralling staircase of a bell tower in horror. The staircase was constructed as an interior set, and filmed vertically from above applying a dolly zoom. This involves distancing the camera from the subject, whilst simultaneously zooming in, such that the subject remains constant in the frame, but the perspective of the background changes. In Vertigo, the resulting visual distortion, dubbed “the Vertigo effect”, serves to convey the protagonist’s simultaneous dizziness and terror.

In this sculpture, I attempted to simulate this spinning and blurring effect in three dimensions, applying geometrically simplified renditions of the structures seen in the film. The sculpture is an “interior” structure, intended to convey a sense of claustrophobia.

supervision: Constantinos Papadoukas, Vakalo Art & Design College

construction: Vassilis Scourboutis

photography: Thodoris Fragkos [http://www.thodorisfragkos.com]