A K Dolven
15 Sep - 20 Oct 2007
A K DOLVEN
"Works"
15. September - 20. October
amazon
2005 / 1:34 Description:
amazon is a 16 mm film projection of an androgynous figure shooting a bow and arrow. A fast edit gives this minute and a half long film the sense of a single shot. For the most part, the camera is tight on the body - neck, chest and arm muscles snap between tension and rest. When it jumps back the camera exposes the torso as that of a single-breasted woman. Under the glare of harsh sunlight the woman relentlessly shoots arrow after arrow, each imprinting stark shadows on her skin. Her target is never visible; what is involved in getting the arrow to it seems more vital than where or what the target might be. amazon makes reference to the Greek myth of a matriarchal society of brave female warriors who are said to have cut off one breast to hit their target better. The work speaks of harnessed strength, female courage and determination.
amazon was conceptually edited after the second movement, Allegro Molto, of Shostakovich's String Quartet No.8b In C Minor, Op. 110; a score composed following a visit to Dresden where Shostakovich was confronted with the devastating effects of the bombing of the city during the war. In the end, however, the film is mute. Music extracted, the remaining sound in this installation is the disturbing noise produced by the 16 mm projector.
tilts only (his shirts)
2007 / 6:55 Description:
tilts only (his shirts) is a mute 16 mm film projection that explores a sense of longing. The camera sits tight on the flimsy surface of a man's shirts hanging side by side on a rail. The closeness of the lens creates optical distortions that render the camera's object at once familiar and strange, intimate and distant. The tangibility of the shirts is fleeting. In their place there is an abstract, almost infinite colour field of lines and stripes that echo Newman's onement (zip). The camera's tilting movements are repetitive and relentless, looking its object over, again and again from top to bottom, in a mechanical yet sexualised gaze.
what can I do for you
2007 / 4:41 Description:
what can I do for you is a 16 mm film projected onto the interior wall of a purpose built space. The exterior surface of this space is smooth and painted light blue. Inside, its structure is laid bare. This carefully constructed seclusion is preparation for witnessing a moment of intimacy between two people. The projection itself - black and white and small in scale, exposes a naked male body that deflates and expands with the rhythm of each breath. In the film, the lens draws close over the folds of skin, hovering over pores, follicles and hair. The shifting position of the camera transforms fragmented textured surfaces into expanses of light and shadow in which shapes emerge and disappear. The camera's broken movements propel a woman's hand into action. The hand strokes the skin with a cloth, perhaps to stimulate or maybe to cleanse. The ambiguity of this action, at once sexual and caring, is echoed in the film's title. There
is no sound aside from that of the projector.
"Works"
15. September - 20. October
amazon
2005 / 1:34 Description:
amazon is a 16 mm film projection of an androgynous figure shooting a bow and arrow. A fast edit gives this minute and a half long film the sense of a single shot. For the most part, the camera is tight on the body - neck, chest and arm muscles snap between tension and rest. When it jumps back the camera exposes the torso as that of a single-breasted woman. Under the glare of harsh sunlight the woman relentlessly shoots arrow after arrow, each imprinting stark shadows on her skin. Her target is never visible; what is involved in getting the arrow to it seems more vital than where or what the target might be. amazon makes reference to the Greek myth of a matriarchal society of brave female warriors who are said to have cut off one breast to hit their target better. The work speaks of harnessed strength, female courage and determination.
amazon was conceptually edited after the second movement, Allegro Molto, of Shostakovich's String Quartet No.8b In C Minor, Op. 110; a score composed following a visit to Dresden where Shostakovich was confronted with the devastating effects of the bombing of the city during the war. In the end, however, the film is mute. Music extracted, the remaining sound in this installation is the disturbing noise produced by the 16 mm projector.
tilts only (his shirts)
2007 / 6:55 Description:
tilts only (his shirts) is a mute 16 mm film projection that explores a sense of longing. The camera sits tight on the flimsy surface of a man's shirts hanging side by side on a rail. The closeness of the lens creates optical distortions that render the camera's object at once familiar and strange, intimate and distant. The tangibility of the shirts is fleeting. In their place there is an abstract, almost infinite colour field of lines and stripes that echo Newman's onement (zip). The camera's tilting movements are repetitive and relentless, looking its object over, again and again from top to bottom, in a mechanical yet sexualised gaze.
what can I do for you
2007 / 4:41 Description:
what can I do for you is a 16 mm film projected onto the interior wall of a purpose built space. The exterior surface of this space is smooth and painted light blue. Inside, its structure is laid bare. This carefully constructed seclusion is preparation for witnessing a moment of intimacy between two people. The projection itself - black and white and small in scale, exposes a naked male body that deflates and expands with the rhythm of each breath. In the film, the lens draws close over the folds of skin, hovering over pores, follicles and hair. The shifting position of the camera transforms fragmented textured surfaces into expanses of light and shadow in which shapes emerge and disappear. The camera's broken movements propel a woman's hand into action. The hand strokes the skin with a cloth, perhaps to stimulate or maybe to cleanse. The ambiguity of this action, at once sexual and caring, is echoed in the film's title. There
is no sound aside from that of the projector.