For the show that’s currently up at NNU’s Friesen galleries, we were given both spaces: one for each video, Sea Shovel and The Stepping Up and Going Under Method. As a companion piece to the videos we made a 25 foot long collage in each gallery that documented the process of making that video. We used handcut photos, text from blog posts written while making the videos, and a conceptual “time-line” connecting it all, with handwritten notes which opened the process up even further.
At the opening, we found that audience members kept going back to see the video again after spending time with the collage. They were looking for particular details described in the process — like the fact that the ship was designed to just fit inside our studio and the sweepers had to step onto the ship at the end while the garbage throwers lowered the lights to make the ship seem to continue moving away. There was a lot of movement back and forth between the video and the wall. We thought the work was so successful that we’re considering incorporating the process collage into other shows in the future.
Both videos and collages are on view at the Friesen galleries until March 9.