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| Orbit (1999) Super-8 film, digital video (10mins) [still] |
Lateral motion is translated into an unwinding, circular
orbit around what appears to be a strange, alien landscape. Inconsistent movement and narrow depth of field give the footage a
stuttering, half-focused quality, while the lighting and colouration are akin to
images sent back to Earth from Mars probes. Visible terrain is gradually
recognisable as that of a body, the textures of skin and flesh
occasionally pulled into focus. The quality of the footage,
referencing scientific magnifications and peephole vantages, heightens a
sense of otherness in the observation. The film also suggests uncomfortable proximity or a zone where the human vision cannot focus properly. This suggests both a vaguely
threatening, parasitical intimacy and a mechanistic voyeurism directed
toward a human surface.