The wonderful Lauryn Lamb (https://www.instagram.com/weewaawoowee/) created, curated, designed and hosted a festival of film in the Duke Street lecture theatre, she even managed to arrange for popcorn to be available. Brilliant.
Not only was it brilliant it was also an amazing show of the creative talent across the uni, with entries from film, fine art as well as animation. A real variety in styles, methods and potential messages. Quite a lot of bodily images from the fine art contingent, with mouths chewing pizza floating around on the screen to a screaming face with no noise and then my eyes, full screen.
I wasn't sure if I wanted to put my recent work in for entry as I had made the decision to create the images to be seen at virtually life size on iPhone screens and I hadn't intended for them to be seen one after the other. However, I thought it would be a good way to not only support the event but also to see how they may look on the big screen and also to see and hear the audience reaction. By seeing the eyes that full cinema screen size it emphasised even more the organic element of the film, each eye squeezing to blink for a dot or a dash and in isolation of any other feature it became a muscular articulation. They were all, of course, sending out a silent message, a message that couldn't be read, however much of a pleading message they may be. Each eye held your attention and from the whispers I could hear some people working out it was Morse Code but by then the eye had gone, the message moved on.
I titled it 'BLINK' which is quite ambiguous, intentionally. Technically it looks more like a wink, as it is showing just a singular eye but in making each film the participants actually blinked the message, I just wanted to isolate it to the one eye for reasons discussed in a previous blog - (https://carldurban.wixsite.com/website/post/non-verbal-communication-the-eyes-have-it). I also liked the idea of a singular word title for the piece and one that can be read in different ways; as the action of the eyes closing quickly, as a quick flash that comes ago, as in a blinking light and also as in blink and you'll miss it.
The etymology of the word is quite interesting too:
blink (v.)
1580s, perhaps from Middle Dutch blinken "to glitter," which is of uncertain origin, possibly, with German blinken "to gleam, sparkle, twinkle," from a nasalized form of base found in Old English blican "to shine, glitter" (from PIE root *bhel- (1) "to shine, flash, burn").
I like the idea of blinken "to gleam, sparkle, twinkle" as this gives a slightly different reading and one of standing out, shining out, sending a message almost as a lighthouse does.
The above images are from Lauren's Instagram post and show how well it was received and seeing everyone taking their seats in the lecture theatre for the visual feast! I am hoping for some actual images of the night as I had turned my phone off to respect those watching and others involved, I didn't want my phone to suddenly start flashing away.
A brilliant idea and brilliantly executed. I have said to Lauren and others that this really should be shown as a loop at Festival 22.