REARVIEW MIRROR / 2019

REARVIEW MIRROR / 2019

Cinema spatial installation 9-minute single-channel HD video on loop, multi-channel audios with two overhead speakers, a 5.1 stereo sound set, three cinema chairs in a row, one film projector, and a screen. This installation reworks the concept of film spectatorship and restructures a cinema space by incorporating a creative sound design strategy and bringing in three vibrant scarlet cinema chairs in a row, enticing exhibition visitors to engage with the artwork. The overhead audio channel projects the film's original soundtrack, while the stereo sound set produces pre-recorded, spatially designed sounds encompassing a spectrum of natural occurrences—whispering conversations, swift mind-streams, intermittent coughs, sighs, and faint breaths—from varying distances and directions within the same room. The video footage utilized in this installation is meticulously edited from Leni Riefenstahl's controversial 1938 film, 'Olympia,' documenting the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games. The edited clips aim to delve into how Riefenstahl's distinctive artistic style and powerful aesthetic of bodily strength serve as compelling visual persuasions within the realm of all-perceiving cinema spectatorship, creating a presence that audiences seem to self-disappear. The deliberate absence of occupants in the cinema chairs punctuates this spectral presence. Furthermore, the intermittent and discontinuous noises generated by the non-existent audience add an unsettling layer to the experience, evoking a sense of discomfort and insecurity in what initially appears to be a stable and reassuring room. This intentional disruption prompts viewers to question the shift of their consciousness and perspectives within their peculiar surroundings.
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