Cinthia Marcelle, Leitmotif 2011
presented as a projection on a big screen in one of the tanks at tate modern, it was paired directly opposite with another short film depicting a circular african tribal ritual. the films would alternate and the bench in the middle as well as acting as a seperator, encouraged stationary viewing from a seated angle. though not necessarily a sound art piece i found myself drawn to the crescendo of intensity from the concrete stillness to the almost violent liquid being brushed also mirrored in the audio. sitting face to face with it becomes quite an overwhelming experience with the piece taking up all your field of view alongide the crashing waves being fed into your ears.
the plain, silent beggining felt almost meditative with your own breathing brought to focus (also perhaps already in that mindset because of the piece in the other room ‘Grass Breathing’ by Ana Mendieta) which brings into question the idea of audience being a part of the sound work. then as the soapy water gradually begins to enter the frame your breathing and almost tide like audiovisuals merge. this i believe successully represents the ritual theme in terms of the coinsiding of themes such as: body and action, experience and place, repitition and labour. i feel as though i keep coming back to this idea of cycles, pulses, ebb and flow in my thought which i definitely want to bring into my own work. as the sweeping increases and gets more agressive the mechanical nature mentioned in the info about the piece becomes apparent as what was once lulling has now become forcefull and consuming and perhaps out of control. i also liked it because it reminded me of Roma, one of my favourite films and i like the colour and texture of concrete as well.
not a critique of the work itself but the the way it was presented made it feel secondary to the piece paired with it. i like the idea of the pairing evoking both ritual and cycle further with how the audience experiences them in succession, though i feel it would make sense it they were similar lengths for example. furthermore, having more than two screenings may also elicit more of a rotaion/choreography which the curators have obviously thought about. though more a visual work i think better thought into the sound would elevate the piece greatly.