JH

Watkins video and sound piece at The Film Archive

AA
View Discussion

Its mood alters from that of a rippling crest to that of something enraged, thunderously chaotic and swirling - and filling the whole wall.

CLINTON WATKINS

Avalanche

Essay by Matthew Crookes

10 December 2009 -27 February 2010

 

Clinton Watkins is known for his memerising and subtle video and sound work. My favourites are his slow moving, brightly coloured, container ships that slowly creep across the screen and a swinging lamp shade projected on a roof.

This work, seen next door to ARTSPACE, features a loop of found film of an avalanche. We see it barrelling horizontally across the face of a mountain like a delicate small wave approaching a beach, only to change direction when the mountain suddenly gets steeper. Then the motion becomes vertical, cacophonous and churning. Its mood alters from that of a rippling crest to that of something enraged, thunderously chaotic and swirling - and filling the whole wall.

At first ‘loop’ the only sound is a continuous rumble but gradually Watkins adds an electronic aural backdrop that gradually becomes more dominant. Spatially the ominous, grinding roar and ‘lyrical’ electronics seem distinct and separate, clearly defined and not interchangeable or blending.

The image is so hypnotic with its spectacularly terrifying but beautiful violence that added sound doesn’t seem necessary. Its cascading falling motion and billowing clouds of thrown up snow are so riveting that even with no sound at all you wouldn’t take your eyes off the projection wall. The mountain is transformed from a massive solid object specked with tiny fir trees to something liquid and flowing like the sea. Movement here becomes oddly abstract, while gravity seems to be approaching its most pure state - even simpler than falling rain - but thankfully so much rarer.

 

Print | Facebook | Twitter | Email

 

Recent Posts by John Hurrell

JH
Laith McGregor, S.O.S., 2025, clay and enamel, dimensions variable.

Performing Magic (with Anxiety)

STARKWHITE

Laith McGregor

 


Long Days, Longer Nights

 


15 March - 15 April 2025

JH
Dale Frank, Installation shot of Dale Frank at Gow Langsford. Photo: Sam Hartnett

Dale Frank in Onehunga

GOW LANGSFORD GALLERY

Onehunga

 

Dale Frank


Dale Frank


8 March - 4 April 2025

JH
Robbie Fraser, HARK, 2025, oil and light refractive pigment on canvas, 1168 x 1216 mm

Robbie Fraser’s Nine Painted Canvases

TWO ROOMS

Robbie Fraser

 

The Centre Always Drifts to the Right

 

7 March - 5 April 2025

JH
Installation view of Mikala Dwyer's Shards and Stones, Sticks and Bones at Starkwhite in Auckland. Little Gold Cloud on the left. Nest is on the right.

Mikala Dwyer @ Starkwhite

STARKWHITE

Mikala Dwyer



Shards and Stones, Sticks and Bones



15 February - 12 March 2025