video installation | 2012

They are portraits of families in their own homes. Details of interiors are isolated and presented in a series of static frames of the same duration.  The people and items are seen separately. The videos both separate and unite the elements. The items are put together in the sequence. There is a sense of time passing but as the images repeat the accumulating effect is of a suspended moment in their domestic lives. Movement is implied; an empty chair previously occupied could suggest that the person who occupied it has simply moved to a different part of the room but there is also a sense that they have gone. Their reinstatement does not relieve the sense of precarious existence as they appear and disappear from view. This simple strategy of conjoining images creates a conflicting mood, both celebrating a haven of ordinary life and an awareness that nothing remains the same. The subtle animation and activity – frying onions, playing the piano, cleaning glasses – emphasises the stasis.

The six videos were made with: Frank and Ivy Stevens; David Ward, Judy Adam & Molly; Judith Williamson and Ian Hunt; Robin and Kathryn Klassnik; Nicky Childs, David Gopsill, Skye & Coco; Nic Sandiland, Yael Flexer, Alona and Eyal.

Produced by Nicky Childs, Artsadmin.