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Wonderland Wonderland is an abandoned structure left over after funding was cut on another of China’s legion of newly developed tourist attractions. The project first began in 1998 but with developers and local farmers still unable to reach an agreement over the rights of the land, the discarded structures of the half built theme park have remained dispersed and vacant throughout empty cornfields for over a decade. The aim of the Wonderland developers was to create the biggest theme park in Asia, set to cover 120 acres of land. Adopted by the locals, these dilapidated skeletons now exist as unconventional playgrounds within the town. Trapped in limbo, a hybrid space between the 'real' and the artificial, this environment induces a sense of transformation or manipulation that appears to permeate and displace the realm of fantasy. Tamed by the locals, the remnants of Wonderland become the antithesis of everything it was intended to be. Duration: 3:02 minutes Location: China Sound design: John Steele Created: 01.07.2011 |
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Inglenook Inglenook was made in response to the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in April - May 2010, which caused enormous disruption to air travel across Western and Northern Europe. Whilst causing much frustration it also captured huge public and media attention. The volcanic ash that had hindered so many peoples travel plans and the economy at large had also enticed the mass media and wealthy tourists to travel via helicopters and 4x4’s to see what was described as ‘natures fireworks’ firsthand. Stories broke of wealthy tourists dining at the foot of the eruption and local operators increased their fees as sales of volcano tours skyrocketed. Shot in the north of Iceland at the same time as the eruption, Inglenook focuses on a well-known furnace which grumbles beneath the ground, expelling gases through the peak of a hidden mountain ridge. The piece attempts to create a seductively sinister husk of the former event. A poetic meditation of the prodigious but overlooked. Duration: 3:12 minutes Location: Iceland Sound design: John Steele Created: 25.05.2010 |
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An Ordinary Time An Ordinary Time is a seven screen panoramic multi-channel projection installation. The videos exhibited range in style from documentary to theatrical narrative where surreal moments are incorporated into the daily routines of local inhabitants. They aim to question the nature of performance, the authenticity involved in such performances and draw between the cinematographic play between fantasy and reality. The compositions are developed to be viewed from one chosen vantage point only and exhibited through a 2 dimensional image, in an attempt to heighten a sense of painterly illusion. ‘An ordinary time’ looks at each individual in the context of their everyday rituals. Each trapped in their own cycle of repetition they appear to achieve nothing but continue to find purpose and function. The circular narrative aims to draw our attention to the cinematic moments to which we have become accustomed. Each is individually titled according to their action ‘The Smoker’, ‘The Paper’, ‘The Morining Shave’, ‘The Outsider’ etc. Psychological ambiguity remains evident within each scene. The absurdity and oddness of each situation aims to address a level of humour which can be found in daily life, where the comfort and familiarity that our daily rituals bring us - however strange - resonates with the viewer as part of their own natural habits or demeanour. Title: An Ordinary Time Video: HD installation Sound design: John Steele Created: 2010 |
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An Ordinary Time, 'The Morning Shave' - HD Film Still, 2010 |
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An Ordinary Time, 'The Paper' - HD Film Still, 2010 |
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An Ordinary Time, 'The Happening' - HD Film Still, 2010 |
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An Ordinary Time, 'Houses' - HD Film Still, 2010 |
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365.com 365.com is a film loop depicting a protagonist who remains eternally in the present moment, endlessly and diligently trying to prepare his daily meal whilst negotiating an array of insufficient props. Entirely oblivious to the messages being transmitted around him, he remains isolated in his struggle, undisturbed by the mirrored actions that unfold as he becomes increasingly at odds with this otherwordly environment. Duration: 01:40 Video: HD Installation Created: 12.02.2010 |
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365.com - HD Film Still, 2010 |
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catherine.hyland@network.rca.ac.uk |
www.catherinehyland.blogspot.com |
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