One of a series of five films first shown as Paloma Ceffyl at One Severn Street, Birmingham, curated by Karen Newman (nee Allen)
Includes the following works, looping:
Paloma 2 mins 30 sec
Ceffyl 15 mins
Woodcutter 2 mins 30 sec
Dark Horse 30 sec
Dilodibout 6 mins
A five screen installation which explores our romanticism and domination of the rural landscape. Paloma Ceffyl brings together scenes caught by chance rather than searched for or constructed.
Paloma (Spanish for pigeon) and Ceffyl (Welsh for horse) make a linguistic reference to the country in which each is filmed. Footage shown was captured during working trips to diverse agricultural locations including Wales, the ˜plasticultura’ area of Southern Spain and the sugar plantations of Mauritius.
Included in this installation is an image of a horse being massaged by a woman. The camera reveals a sensuous and trusting moment as the woman hands move across the horses neck and torso. The apparent tenderness and physicality is intensely suggestive, and further dramatised by the fall of light and intimacy with which the camera explores the scene. The film provides us with the privileged position from which to consider their relationship more closely.
Another scene reveals a group of amateur pigeon breeders gathering their multicoloured hand dyed birds. The mutual acceptance and willingness to participate in this relationship is clearly visible. In contrast, on another screen a pack of horses are chased away from the headlights of a car and driven into the darkness. Elsewhere two boys build a fire in the woods, while a raging fire sweeps through a field of sugar cane. We are at once reminded of the tenuous link between our primitive need for food and warmth, and the wider implications resulting from our indulgences. These images offer different viewpoints from which to reconsider our interaction with animals, and ultimately our relationship with nature.
The combination of works that form this installation create a collective dialogue, and propose an evolving composition of moving images enabling the viewer to engage with the work on an intimate and monumental level, whilst heightening the intangible drama of a found moment.
(Text adapted from curator Karen Allen’s exhibition text)
One Severn Street was a temporary project space for Birmingham dedicated to the commissioning and presentation of artists film and video. Saki Satom (Japan), Sabrina Mezzaqui (Italy) and Anna Lucas (UK) showed new and previously unseen works in a sequence of three solo exhibitions, running from April – July 2005.
Works from this exhibition have subsequently shown as individual pieces.