Seeing the 'whole'.

A panorama is the result of stitching together separate images to make a single image. You can do this in a number of different ways and with a number of different software solutions, with varying degrees of success and ease. I was pointed to a video panorama the other day on facebook, but I have also seen panorama building applications that run on iphones in conjunction with the camera.

So why are we feeling more and more compelled to stitch photos? Do we expect a wider image or an interactive image now? My theory is that panorama is used as a method to create a connected vision but also to activate the concept of the ‘whole’. By seeing the 'whole' picture perhaps we can understand it better and re-examine the context that we locate ourselves within.

Some serious food for thought lies with the artistic collaboration Susan Wenyon and Micheal Gamble who use panorama (and holography) within the framework of cartography on several occasions.

When we construct a panorama what are we doing beyond uniting fragmented parts? Are we re-inserting ourselves into a space? Or are we making a new space? Or a bit of both? And why?