Iterations of an Abyss

A short form audiovisual composition in which the movement of light in space is tightly connected to sampled and synthetic sonic components. An endless abyss of processed 16mm film images are fragmented and copied into a boundless kaleidoscopic space where colours shift continuously through physical light modulation. Diaphanous traces of the landscapes, seascapes and humans, flow through like fleeting glimpses into the past.

Harnessing angular real-time editing from a custom-made light control system, the modulated lights of three analog film projectors are interrupted with speed and precision, using hand-built obturators, electronics, and software. The projected images have gone through an array of transformations: beginning on Super 8 film, then transferred into digital image, converted back into analog video, digitized once more, and finally printed onto 16mm film. This layered circulation between photochemical, analog and digital formats became an essential part of the work, allowing the image to carry ‘paleontological’ traces of each transformation.