Blink Effect

by Mieko Akutsu, Troy Pierce

June 14 - June 20, 2026

At Basel Social Club “The Office” 2026, we will present a site-speci#c sound installation with interactive elements titled “Blink Effect”, created by Mieko Akutsu and Troy Pierce, curated by SOOT. A directional (ultrasonic) speaker will be installed on a mirror in the restroom. When someone stands in front of the mirror, a sound suddenly becomes audible only to that person. The work draws on Mieko Akutsu’s research-based visual study of blinking, alongside an original sound composition by Troy Pierce. Drawing on visual perception theory, Akutsu explores the idea that what we “see” is not a direct representation of reality but rather a constructed image produced by the brain. This suggests that human perception itself is grounded in fundamental uncertainty, which led her to develop her Blink Study Series. It is important to remember that even before the invention of computers, humans already possessed an advanced system that automatically corrects visual “glitches” in reality, allowing us to perceive the world more coherently. A visitor standing in front of the mirror will likely look at their own reflection. At that moment, the sound of blinking is suddenly triggered—audible only to that person. As they observe their reflection blinking, Troy’s sound composition merges with Mieko’s visual study, creating a private perceptual moment: a Blink Effect experienced by the viewer alone. This also functions as a subtle intervention—a kind of playful prank we set for visitors at Basel Social Club “The Office” in a moment when they are most unsuspecting.

Mieko Akutsu

b. 1978 Tokyo, Japan, 1997 immigrated to Los Angeles Mieko’s Blink Study series, Blink Drawing, expresses the act of drawing —a primal gesture innate to humankind since ancient times - while exploring the origins of art through the use of dots and lines. Through this process, Akutsu seeks to visualize universal concepts of time, dimension, and human body and their interactions. She draws dots while her eyes are open, leaving spaces whenever she blinks, thus recording both time and the rhythm of her body. In another drawing, she traces across the paper with a marker, placing a dot at each blink. Each piece is a unique, unrepeatable encounter — a once-in-a- lifetime work.

Troy Pierce

Troy Pierce is a North American born artist working with sound in relation to space and image. After more than two decades based in Berlin, where his practice emerged within the city’s electronic music scene through releases on Richie Hawtin’s M-nus label and as co-founder of Items & Things alongside Magda and Marc Houle, he returned to the United States in 2019 and is now based in Los Angeles. His work has evolved into a broader exploration of sound as a spatial and sensory medium, often situated in dialogue with other disciplines. This includes collaborations with Gibby Miller (Louderbach), Natalia Escobar (Pierce With Arrow), and cross-sensory projects with Folie à Plusieurs perfume and Japanese incense maker HA KO. Recent work with visual artist Cornelia Pierce, composing the soundtrack for her book Nachtmeer, marks a turn toward more cinematic and narrative forms. Here, sound operates less as a standalone output and more as an atmospheric extension, shaping perception, memory, and the temporal experience of the visual.