[Below:] Only When I'm Dancing (2005), DVD, 0mins 53 secs.
In the midst of the veils of everyday-life, sometimes you have to really look at what is there to really see…
Only When I’m Dancing (2005) incorporates the constant transitions between presence and absence into moving image, at the same time denoting a form of universal self-portrait. The piece refers to how one tries to break free from the constraints of everyday-life and routine… even just for a moment.
The piece functions on several levels: It exists independently by itself, in its own self-contained state of limbo behind the lens, playing continuously over and over again like a bad memory. Yet interestingly, the piece also serves as a vehicle for contemplation, offering a glimpse into an individual’s internal world.
"Memory is a way of holding on to the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose." Kevin Arnold.
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[Below:] Intrusion (2005), DVD, 0mins 31secs.
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[Below:] Memory (2005), DVD, 0mins 20secs.
"As memory may be a paradise from which we cannot be driven, it may also be a hell from which we cannot escape." -John Lancaster Spalding (1840-1916)
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[Below:] Silent Music (2005), DVD, 0mins 43secs.
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[Below:] Journey (2005), DVD, 2mins 30 secs.
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[Below:] Belonging (2005), DVD, 0mins 45secs.
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[Below:] I'm Here (2005), DVD, 0mins 16secs.
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[Below:] The Waiting/The Release (2006), DVD, 1mins 48secs.
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[Below:] Documentary of The Waiting installation at The Griffin pub, Carlisle. (2006), DVD, 8mins 06secs.
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[Below:] Tied Down (2006), DVD, 1mins 37secs.
This work investigates the notion of a portrait of the human condition and points to our resigned fate of being tied down to our current existences, whilst exploring themes of waiting and stillness.
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[Below:] Passing Shadows (2006), DVD, 2mins 15secs. looped.
This short fine art film takes a glimpse into the very notion of existence. Feelings of déjà vu and memory are referenced here along with the concept of relationships to other people, who we may or may not know now in this life…
"We do not remember days, we remember moments. The richness of life lies in memories we have forgotten." - Cesare Pavese (1908-1950)
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[Below:] Haven (2006), DVD, 8mins 06secs. video installation.
This piece, described as being “minimal yet poetic” at a previous exhibition, is the result of the artist once again transforming a space in the external world to portray an insight into a private world. On a more universal note, the piece can also be interpreted as being an attempt to escape from the world we live in today in order to exist in a more contemplative space. Essentially, all my works are an exploration of the silence we feel at some point in our lives, which I think is relevant to all of us. The following statement sums this piece up:
heaven
n.
1. a shelter serving as a place of safety and privacy
2. A place of refuge or rest; a sanctuary.
The installation, which consists of a large projection in a blackened space is designed to overwhelm the viewer’s sense in order to create an almost hyper-real experience of “heaven”, a play-on-words from “haven”, meaning a safe place free from danger and distraction.
Viewers from previous exhibitions have also remarked how “relaxing” the piece was resulting in an overall positive feedback. This had demonstrated that the piece was successful in transporting its viewers to another place of safe timelessness… –Even art sceptics and those with phobias of flying! It was noticed how most viewers seemed attracted by the intense blue of the sky and the clouds drifting by. The surrounding sounds give the illusion of being high up in the skies away from the constraints of everyday life.
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[Below:] Untitled (window) (2006), DVD, 3mins 30secs. video installation.
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[Below:] Furniture (2007), DVD, 7mins 23 secs.
"We're just waiting to see what happens. He's taking his time." - Ron Everhart.
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[Below:] The Happy Couple (2007), DVD, 4mins 12secs.
In essence, this piece investigates the breakdown of communication that sometimes exist in relationships, and what consequences occur because of this. Exploring the silence that we all feel at some point in our lives, the piece can be little uncomfortable to experience and poignantly, maybe acts as a mirror to our own lives.
In The Happy Couple, the viewer is presented with a white framed perfect picture of a seemingly happy couple. As both protagonists try their hardest to maintain their smiles and composures, this leads us to speculate whether all is as it seems? This piece refers to the facades that we sometimes create as human beings in everyday life.
"The dilemmas of interaction: how to decide on the facade we present to the world despite what's going on inside of us." - James Hancock
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[Below:] Workaholic (2008), DVD, 4mins 12secs.
"When dreaming, I'm guided through another world, time and time again. At sunrise, I fight to stay asleep, because I don't want to leave the comfort of this place... because there's a hunger, a longing to escape, from the life that I live when I'm awake." - Anon.
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[Below:] Daddy Loves Me Really (2008), DVD, 4mins 12secs
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[Below:] Hysterics (2008), DVD, 0mins 33secs.
This video piece explores the in-between states in human expression. In this case, we see a female protagonist caught in between a state of laughter and crying. This piece involved slowing down the footage as a process to heighten the idea.
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[Below:] So Much It Hurts (2008), DVD, 0mins 26secs.
This never-seen-before video piece explores the transitional qualities of human expression. In this case, we see a male protagonist caught in a state of laughter. This piece involved slowing down the footage as a process to heighten his fleeting expressions throughout the laugh.
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[Below:] Tension-Hold (2008), DVD, 3mins 53 secs.
Here’s the situation: a protagonist is instructed to perform a tension hold exercise – holding the body in a squat position for as long as possible.
The viewer sees whether he does this with success or not.
His facial expressions has been recorded and slowed down to dramatic effect. We see the pain evident in his face, though interestingly, we get a sense that he is also simultaneously finding pleasure from the experience. A simple piece but compelling to watch. The piece references ideas of human endurance, will, hope, anticipation and inevitable failure.
"We are weighed down, every moment, by the conception and sensation of time. And there are but two means of escaping and forgetting this nightmare: pleasure and work. Pleasure consumes us. Work strengthens us. Let us choose." - Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867)
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[Below:] Still Life: A Pause For Thought (2008), DVD, 5mins 53secs.
This timeless video piece explores the silence that we all feel in our lives. In this case, it refers to the momentary pause where we are temporarily displaced from the external world. The viewer catches the male protagonist in this particular moment where is is simultaneously there but not there, suspended in this state of limbo. We are deceived into believing that this is literally a still life, but upon closer inspection, subtle shifts in movement are detected as he lingers in this non-place. Perhaps he is in the process of having a conversation with us and pauses to think, but only as explicably so as a comma punctuates a sentence. My work fundamentally investigates aspects of the human condition and ideas of consciousness and transitional states.
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[Below:] Dead Diners (2010), DVD, 1mins 30secs.
“Are we like those bored couples you feel sorry for in restaurants? Are we the dining dead?” – Joel Barish in Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind (2004)
This video piece explores the silence that we all feel in our lives, focussing on the isolation that pervades our lives, whilst exploring the breakdown in communication in relationships. It offers a platform for contemplation – do we really live our lives or are we simply existing?
To begin with, we assume that the couple are at the point of beyond words or even communication. There is a sense of sadness and heightened sense of loneliness coupled with an incomprehensible feeling of inevitability as well, which makes for uncomfortable viewing. Here, we are given a poignant insight into someone’s relationship, which may well act as s a reflection of our own. There are isolated moments within the piece, which suggest a brief yet hopeful emotional connection between the two characters, for example, when they seem to peer at each other. Sadly, these moment disappear just as quickly as they do manifest.
Towards the end of the piece, however, it is revealed that the two characters are in fact leading quite separate lives, when a passer-by strolls past the woman… but not the man.
This piece refers to ideas of the middle and the end by exploring how time can affect relationships and communication. When silence appears so enveloping and so poignant, that time appears to be stuck somehow, yet the rest of the world carries on moving forward.
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[Below:] A Little Sincerity... (2010), DVD, 7mins 06secs.
"A little sincerity is a dangerous thing... and a great deal of it is absolutely fatal." - Oscar Wilde. (1854-1900)
