Slow Action
by Ben Rivers
Video:
- 12 minute extract from Slow Action
- 2Ben Rivers discusses Slow Action
Download this video - 3Video documentation of Slow Action installed at Picture This, 2010
- 4Video documentation of Slow Action installed at Picture This, 2010
Images:
- 1Film still from Slow Action
- 2Film still from Slow Action
- 3Film still from Slow Action
- 4Film still from Slow Action
- 5Film still from Slow Action
- 6Slow Action installed at Picture This, 2010
- 7production still from Slow Action
Film still from Slow Action
Synopsis:
A new work by artist Ben Rivers. Slow Action considers the possible future Utopias evolving on isolated islands.
Slow Action is filmed at four locations around the world: Gunkanjima - an island off the coast of Nagasaki, Japan - an abandoned city built on a rock that was built to house the families of the colliers who once worked the now depleted mines below; Tuvalu - a country in the middle of the Pacific made up of tiny strips of land just above sea level; Lanzarote - one of the driest climates on earth and a mix of beach resorts, dead volcanoes and curious architecture; and Somerset - a possible future Utopia.
The ideas behind this work stem from Ben Rivers' investigation into the field of island biogeography - the study of how species and climates evolve differently when isolated and surrounded by an unlike ecosystem.
16mm cinemascope footage combines with animation and a soundtrack featuring a spoken text developed in collaboration with science fiction novelist Mark von Schlegell.
Details:
| Year | 2010 |
|---|---|
| Duration | 44 minutes |
| Medium | 4 screen video projection |
| Original format | Standard 16mm |
| Screening format | |
| Aspect ratio | 2.65:1 Cinemascope |
| Audio | Yes |
| Colour / B&W | Colour & B&W |
| Screens | 2 versions: 4 screen or single screen |
Credits:
Commissioned by Picture This and Animate Projects. Supported by Bristol City Council, Arts Council England, Elephant Trust, Daiwa Japan Foundation and the British Council.
External links:
Screening history:
Matt's Gallery
IFF Rotterdam
Courtisane, Gent
Dokumentarfilmwoche Hamburg
Cinema du reel
Indielisboa
Documenta Madrid
Ann Arbor FF
Jeonju IFF
LOOP, Barcelona
Onion city
Chicago Underground FF (Best Experimental Film)
Signal + Noise Media Art Festival, Vancouver
Southbank Centre
Artists
Ben Rivers
The films of Ben Rivers are rich, cinematic portraits that explore wilderness environments and self-contained worlds.
Events
Ben Rivers Artists Talk
25 November 2009, 6.30pm - 8.30pm
Join us at the Atelier for an informal evening with the artist Ben Rivers who will discuss the ideas behind his two films Origin of the Species and
Events
'Selected': A Screening
26 May 2011, 6:30pm
A touring programme of artists' moving image screening events curated by shortlisted artists for the 2010 Film London Jarman Award.
Essays
Islands in the stream
Writing for Sight & Sound, Lucy Reynolds explores the suspense between fact and fiction in Ben Rivers' Slow Action.
Events
JARMAN AWARD 2010 Touring Programme
25 September 6:30pm
Film London and Picture This present a special screening showcasing work by the four artists shortlisted for this year’s prestigious Jarman
Events
Unravel: 16mm workshop
20 November 2010, 12 - 4.30pm, screening at 5pm
Be part of creating the longest hand painted film in Britain.
News
Picture This commissions in Signal and Noise Festival
Picture This' commissions by Ben Rivers and Hito Steyerl are included in the 'Signal + Noise' Media Art Festival in Vancouver
News
Slow Action Screening at the Southbank Centre
Monday 4 July 2011, 7:00pm
News
'Slow Action' listed in films of 2011
This month's BFI Sight & Sound magazine invites 60 international critics to discuss their top-five films of 2011.