Screening at SuperOtium
VisualcontainerTv and Vegapunk present
Becoming the Skin of the Snake
Screening of the videoart works created in the frame of VVV-Residency
22.02.2022 at SuperOtium from 7 to 9 pm
Artists: Eleanor Banfield, Clara Begliardi Ghidini, Tilly Collins, Amie Dodgson, Dasha Konovalova, Annabel Miller, Lisa Moro, Eve Williams, Evelyn Yulin Zhou.
Becoming the Skin of the Snake
VVV-R project presents artists exploring the practice of the video-trouvé as a tool to look at one’s own research through the eyes of others: a core topic to face nowadays where human interaction and perception of reality is continuously glitching within screen interfaces.
The snake changes its skin: its dry skin can be seen as an objet trouvé, as an empathic tool for relating to others and to the environment. The title is the result of the curatorial path that evolved during the final step of the residency program 2022: it seals both the exhibition on VisualcontainerTv, that will be online from February 25th, and the event at SuperOtium.
On February 22nd we display both the works realized in 2022 residency together with the videos realized and broadcasted in 2021 the frame of Digital Glue exhibition.
Video List
Performing Holes, 1’43’’, b/w, stereo 640 x 480, Annabel Miller 2022
Sens, 2’20’’ video, 1920 x 1080, 16/9, color, stereo, Amie Dodgson 2022
Time Perception, 1’19’’, video, 1920x1080, color, HD, stereo, Evelyn Zhou 2022
Invasion Fertilisation, 2'22'', 3605 × 2660, color, stereo, Lisa Moro 2022
Galaxian Green, 1’53’’, 1920×1080, color, stereo, Eleanor Banfield, 2021
Eat Sleep Work Die, 1’22’’, 976 x 720, color, stereo, Tilly Collins, 2021
Connect, 1’14’’, 1920×960, stereo, Eve Williams, 2021
Numb, 4’10’’ 640 x 480, stereo, Clara Begliardi Ghidini, 2021
Glasnost, 8’54’’, 640×480, color, stereo, Dasha Konovalova, 2021
* * * *
Annabel Miller
1’43’’, b/w, stereo 640 x 480, 2022
Annabel Miller : My work explores the hidden curiosity of the peep hole and how the female body is often looked at through one end of this hole. By showing the females mouths and excluding what is usually seen through this way of entertainment I am eliminating any form of sexual nature and showing the subjectification of bodies as the narrative of performance. The mouths become the eye, speaking to the audience. I am fascinated with the concept of the body being watched, falling into the category of consumerism. Through my video I am creating a sense of communication from the viewer the watcher and performer, creating a watching loophole.
Amie Dodgson
2’20’’, 1920 x 1080, 16/9, color, stereo, 2022
Amie Dodgson: Sens in Latin means ‘to feel’ and this video is an exploration of embodiment and was born from the research question of 'how can a sense other than visual be explored through video and found footage to create a narrative?' The research began with haptic vision, which refers to the relationship between skin and screen and the sense of touch and seeing. The idea was to include macro shots and close-up frames to create a sense of tactility taking the viewer from one frame to the next on a sensory journey allowing them to navigate their own perception, memories, and sensations. Colour plays a huge part in emotions and each humanistic shot is followed by a colourful abstract movement creating a synesthetic experience.
'Sound’ in ‘video’ brings the listeners' attention and focus into what they're watching. They are free to start to create their own narrative or use collective memories attached to that sound. When the sound is different to the image, the narrative changes and is unexpected. When the sounds are unfamiliar, such as the metronome, we attach our own individual subjective experience to that sound and in turn place meaning on it such as the sound of a heartbeat. Combining this with silences and diegetic sounds, makes an interesting play between attention and focus, meaning and interpretation which in turn creates a second narrative towards what the viewer is watching. When watching the visual in silence or with the diegetic sound, the haptic sensation becomes more intense and with the distraction of the metronome it brings attention to the brain and thinking rather than into the bodily sensations and being present.
Evelyn Zhou
1’19’’, 1920x1080, color, stereo, 2022
Evelyn Zhou: Time is always an interesting topic. The perception of time changes. When you engage, such as walking in a busy city, or typing on a keyboard, it passes fast; when you wander, it becomes endless. Our brains are fascinating, they control what we see and how we feel. The video of ‘Time Perception’ (2022), shows various scenes are happening at the same time between cities and natures. Time flows from day till night. A ‘J’ cut at the beginning, the video starts from darkness to a digital clock and a sundial, representing there will be a comparation. Clock sounds like a trailer to lead audiences to an experience of time. All scenes are divided into city and nature; however, they share commons. For example, shapes, colours, and moods. It shows a strong relationship between the two worlds, things are happening at the same time, but they provide different feelings of the time. When the sun goes down, the day ends, it comes back to darkness and only remains sounds of nature. This video displays a day routine.
Lisa Moro
2'22'', 3605 × 2660, color, stereo, 2022
Lisa Moro: The title of this work is Invasion Fertilisation and it has come from my research into the international commercial fertility and surrogacy market which is worth over $100m. This piece is set in Ukraine, using public web cam footage in the last few days as Russian invasion is imminent. Ukraine has one of the largest commercial surrogacy markets and as such hundreds of babies which have been commissioned by international parents are currently inside their Ukrainian surrogate mothers and due to be born in the Ukraine over the next nine months.
Ukraine is popular with ‘commissioning parents’ from UK and USA as one of few countries where it is legal. Due to imminent invasion by Russia, citizens of UK and USA have been instructed to leave immediately and are advised not to travel there and will result in a similar situation to the covid outbreak where babies were left in hotels for months.
With this work I portray the tensions of these intersecting narratives. The expectant nature of the situation creates a tension, watching, waiting for something where the outcome is unknown.
I reference microscopic and telescopic, the use of cells to create life verses the invasion of a country with global impact. The two types of invasion interest me as it has always been the case that invaders impregnate women as a tactic to occupy and as genocide. In the current situation Russia in invading physically while the commercial surrogacy goes on relatively unquestioned.
1’53’’, 1920×1080, stereo 2021
Eleanor Banfield: When watching cooking videos involving meat, I feel an odd mixture of comfort and nostalgia for family recipes and disgust at the violence that goes into these meals. I used the ormer as an example as it is a local delicacy eaten in Guernsey that I have fond memories of eating with family; however, I no longer eat meat and have started to explore my feelings towards the violent treatment of animals for food. I found that when you take away the context of the kitchen these actions suddenly become a lot less excusable, more grotesque and offensive to more people. My aim for this film was to recreate this mixed feeling visually for a wider audience to understand. To do this I sweetened the image of the ormer using widely recognized styles and visuals taken from sci-fi cinema and arcade games. In using these themes, I created a character in the ormer and made it aesthetically pleasing using the sci-fi and gaming connections to create a friendly and nostalgic feeling to allow the audience to become more attached and sympathetic towards the ormer before the film descends into the chaotic and violent reality of the shellfish.
Tilly Collins
1’22’’, 976 x 720, color, stereo, 2021
Tilly Collins: This video explores the repetitious nature of daily life using Bruce Nauman’s ‘Good Boy Bad Boy’ (1985) and stock footage clips. The repetition of particular phrases creates a rhythm which emphasises the boredom some people can experience in life, something which is particularly prevalent at the moment. Through using the woman from Bruce Nauman’s piece ‘Good Boy Bad Boy’ I have intentionally added a human element into the piece in order to humanise it. As the words can be quite severe, I believe this element lightens the piece and adds a humorous touch which was crucial for me as I didn’t want the piece to have a dark tone. My research into rhythm and repetition has helped me create a sense of boredom in the piece, which emphasises the idea of how habitual our lives are. This raises questions around how you spend your time and your own productivity, which directly relates to how the viewer is spending it watching this piece.
Eve Williams
1’14’’, 1920×960, stereo, 2021
Eve Williams: In the process of making Connect, I have been exploring the associations between our society and the similarities there are to the way in which trees communicate. When we look at a root system, we see the interlinking channels of communication and the relation to the way our road networks are developed. Using Peter Wohelleben’s The Hidden Life of Trees (2015) as a reference point, I thought about how this could be represented using imagery from found sources. By using screenshots from Google Earth, the work brings into question ideas surrounding surveillance and who it is that is watching. By using satellites to document the earth, we are seeing only a representation of its surface, not the world in its actuality. The patterns and reoccurring shapes between the two subjects begin to emerge from the footage as the video proceeds which illustrates the way trees and humans are similar.
Clara Begliardi Ghidini
4’10’’, 640 x 480, stereo, 2021
Clara Begliardi Ghidini: "Everything psychological is biological everything biological is psychological". Numb is an experimental video work reflecting my interests as an artist in psychological anthropology and biology. The video has been heavily inspired by and contains the first half of Len Lye's Tusalava, a 1929 animation. Through combining Lye’s abstract visual language with my own and a personal stream of conscience extract transcribed into a stop motion format, the video examines the hypothetical metaphor between enzyme function and the way we cope with our emotions as human beings.
Dasha Konovalova
8’54’’, 640×480, color, stereo, 2021
Dasha Konovalova: The video focuses on the struggle of overcoming an oppressive regime, the effects it can have on someone’s psyche and the psychology of whole nations generations after its fall. It also includes themes of betrayal, corruption and uncertainty. While making this video I struggled with feelings of anger and sadness that researching USSR always brings me. I used music that I heard a lot in my childhood being brought up in a musical family. It was also used a lot in Soviet media. When making Glasnost I wanted to express my frustrations and hopefully gain a better understanding of who I am and why I feel this way. The videos I use worked together unexpectedly well and I was often surprised by the connections I was able to make between the two. The final outcome wasn’t what I first intended but it worked out a lot better in the end.
