Imitations of Life (excerpt) (2003, 35MB, 4 min.)
Imitations of Life is a ten-part video that strains childhood through a history
of reproduction, culling pictures from the Lumières to
the present day in order to find the future in our past.
by experimental filmmaker Mike Hoolboom.
Adam Mufti – Garden Cities of the Future (2008, 53MB, 7:19)
Remarkable, hypnotic work from the incredibly talented Adam Mufti.
Part meditation on modern life, part perhaps futuristic foreboding,
this piece sort of leaves me speechless, though I fear a lack of
editorializing might portray lukewarm feelings.
It’s really just that I’d rather a viewer experience this on his/her own.
I thought I’d watched a 3 minute piece – only when posting this did
I discover the actual runtime is more than double what it seems.
In this case, that’s exceptional.
The video also features the voice of London actress Juliet Rylance.
The whole thing, the composition, the editing, all of it: truly stunning,
took my breath away. Find a quiet spot and enjoy.
Sunday Afternoon Narcissism (2012, 190MB, 2:46 min)
Hypnotic and disorientating chunk of enchantment from London artist
Lucy Mills.
Only one cavil and that’s the title – the self-deprecation involved might
serve to camouflage the actual richness of this piece, at least from the
casual viewer*.
Let’s be optimistic and assume careful viewing, which work of
this quality certainly merits.
* Although, on reflection, the ‘Sunday Afternoon’ also suggests a certain
dreamy languor quite in keeping with just how gently ravishing it all is.