Theme:
In response to the theme of Play and Stillness, I have created a video installation.
Context:
The source of this week's inspiration is the work of previous APD student Yee Hui Wong, (http://magistudio.net/work/apd-week-ten-play-and-stillness-yee) who emphasised "Welsh said in his 'Notes toward the Concept of Contemplative Gaming' that looking at a painting allows us to 'think about the world it envisions.' (Welsh 2012) We could then make associations, explore the world, and unleash our imagination, hence, make an emotional connection with the painting."
A painting is 2D which by itself encourages a stillness, a time away from the normal reality viewing of our physical world, and propels the viewer into an alternate reality. In Ambient Play, authors Larissa Hjorth and Ingrid Richardson cogently point to the concept of "ambient play". This theory let me realize that people feel more comfortable in familiar circumstances. Similar to how people do not speak loudly in libraries, this emotion only occurs in specific place. People regard their homes as places for enjoyment and relaxation. In this atmosphere, where 2D paintings are used to connect emotion and reflection, people feel more deeply.
Based on this idea, I made a video installation. The initial idea of the idea is to make a video that can be quietly enjoyed. Comfortable color scheme, relaxing environment and accompanied by the sound from nature. After an exhausting day, watching such videos at home can effectively reduce stress and anxiety and stabilize emotional health.
However, the book Dark Ecology (2016) which Matt recommended in class (thanks Matt!) evoked another thought in me. To take a paragraph from the introduction of the book, "The logistics of agricultural society resulted in global warming and hardwired dangerous ideas about life-forms into the human mind. Dark ecology puts us in an uncanny position of radical self-knowledge, illuminating our place in the biosphere and our belonging to a species in a sense that is far less obvious than we like to think." I felt compelled to inject some thing more into this video.
Method:
This video installation relies primarily on a projector to play a particular video. There are some rooms that are extremely cramped and small, possibly without a normal size window. Long-term exposure to a space like this has an effect on people's emotions that manifests as despair and gloom. I wove painting into a narrative by seeing the passage of time and stillness via the perspective of a window. From the bustling streets to the deteriorating walls to the luxuriant and abundant flora. Will something remain still forever?
"The year earth changed” Narrated by David Attenborough, this timely documentary special takes a look at nature’s extraordinary response to a year of global lockdown. This love letter to planet Earth will take audience from hearing birdsong in deserted cities for the first time in decades, to witnessing whales communicating in ways never before seen. (https://youtu.be/XswV_yqPq28) I sense the transmission of nature's vitality through this film.
My goal will be met if even a small amount of distinct feeling or reflection is evoked in the audience by my video. Due to time constraints, this video is rough. But I still aspire to establish some emotional bond with the audience.
Reflection:
Play is a form of sharing attention - focusing on the same thing or a common interest that requires a great number of interactions and movements with others or self. When people think of the word "play," they think of something dynamic, engage and energy. Stillness is a different word. It brings to mind of silence, contemplation, profundity, and a lack of movement. Quote from Nancy Reyner (https://nancyreyner.com), stillness is when we allow ourselves those moments to be connected to our higher self, or a higher place or source. True stillness in a work of art comes from the artist and their process – when both are also connected to this higher source.
When dynamic and static play and stillness are combined, the stillness becomes a point of connection between the artist and the audience. Play and stillness represent both deep thinking and process of how people share the outcomes of that understanding in the creative production.
When I consider the definition of stillness, I believe that many things cannot be maintained in their original state. Humans, for example, are becoming older, emotions are fading, and the world is changing. Didn't the top-of-the-food-chain dinosaurs also fall extinct? Personally, I have the feeling that Melbourne is becoming colder. This is a clear indication that the environment is getting worse. Nothing can still forever, just as humans cannot remain at the top of the food chain and in charge of earth forever.
Just like Love, Death & Robots Volume 3 (2022), effectively conveys a similar theme. Alberto Mielgo's characteristic splashes of color, body language, camera focus effects, and sound effects are all presented. The themes of environmental conservation, greed, love, anti-colonialism, and feminism are linked into a sharp sword that slices through the thorns cleanly and crisply. A beautiful, eerie and painful journey of awe. War and bigotry, greed and desire are all human creations. The scale of civilization is unfathomable, human may be vital or insignificant in the universe.
References:
Hjorth, L., Richardson, I. (2020), Ambient Play, London: The MIT Press
Morton, T. (2016), Dark Ecology, Columbia: Columbia University Press
Love, Death & Robot [online], Available at <https://www.netflix.com/au/title/80174608>
<https://teams.microsoft.com/l/message/19:eb3e59dc1c5b4875a12b095ae2721e3f@thread.tacv2/1653981696067?tenantId=d1323671-cdbe-4417-b4d4-bdb24b51316b&groupId=cc4b24be-cf3e-4bf7-a617-cd261efdfe14&parentMessageId=1653981696067&teamName=Advanced Play Design: Semester 1, 2022&channelName=Week 12 - Play and Stillness and Folio 02&createdTime=1653981696067>
Outcome: https://youtu.be/gwZckqn7pP8
By Ziqi Li (April)
Email Ziqi Li (April)
Published On: 31/05/2022