Output details

Priya

The research practices that underpin Priya used physical forms of erasure to physically and metaphorically deny literal forms of cultural memory. The filmstrip depicts a classical Indian Kathak dancer filmed from above. My initial hesitation in using the footage lay in the fact that it was a traditional figurative depiction and I therefore attempted to reclaim the footage through reconfiguration, thus avoiding the trap of fetishisation of the ‘other’ seen through conventional forms of linear narrative. By literally penetrating and debasing the glossy surface of the film using soil and plant life to penetrate the ‘emulsion-skin’ of the film, I drew attention away from the superficial beauty of the image of the Kathak dancer and instead highlighted the physicality of celluloid. The body of the dancer fuses with the body of the film as its physical components become indexical trace of time’s passing manifested through the primal process of biodegradation. By utilising the character of the Kathak dancer from Bollywood film, who traditionally embodies a combination of Indian Muslim and Hindu cultures, filmed in the manner of Busby Berkley, the film attempted to resonate across-cultural boundaries.

My previous work combining analogue and digital media drew me to the ‘death of cinema’ discourse. In this project I further developed this discourse by hastening the chemical destruction of the film body, burying the exposed film prints for varying lengths of time, in order to measure the disruption of the image. The rolls were eventually unearthed and then edited together to illustrate the breakdown of the material and its passage into abstraction. This tactile engagement offered a way of working through the differences between film and digital video, which is an ongoing concern of my work and research.