Wells /
Solarentoptic Chiroteixagraphic

De Soto Gallery presented Solarentoptic Chiroteixagraphic, a solo exhibition by Jeffrey Wells featuring a video installation and photographic works. The show centered on Entoptic Projector, an immersive optical installation, and a suite of related prints titled Hand, Eye, Sun. The artist was present for the opening reception and led guided tours of the installation during the exhibition run.

Wells investigates the fragility of perception and the mysteries of consciousness through immersive works that blur the boundary between external reality and internal experience. In Entoptic Projector, a beam of light projected directly at the viewer induces afterimages that fluctuate between actual video and individually perceived optical phenomena. Drawing on theories of phenomenalism, quantum mechanics, and entheogenic vision, the work functions as a kind of "reality test"—a device to examine what constitutes “realness” in a world increasingly shaped by perception.

Also on view were six photographic prints in the series Hand, Eye, Sun, created using a salvaged antique camera modified with multiple lenses. These layered images of the artist’s hand, eye, and solar diffractions recall ancient protective symbols like the Hamsa and Eye of Providence. Through these mystical allusions, Wells explores the possibility that archetypes are encoded in the human psyche and that the world we experience may be more mythic than material.

Wells continues to explore the disconnect between the physical world and the sensory experience of it, proposing a “retino-mythic” domain where internal and external realities fold into one another. His work serves as a bridge between seen and unseen, science and mysticism—inviting viewers to question not only what they see, but who they are.