Day / Night 2009 videos
These two short films referencing binary oppositions, embedded in the processes of making Igbo Mbari Houses, are seen as ‘Night’ and ‘Day’. The room, which set the scene for both films, made me feel quite uneasy by the huge scale and bulk of the chairs which were numerous, and all faced inwards surrounding the visitor entering the room.
'Night' video screen shots
‘Night’, a time of archetypal fear all shot in this large room, includes sound pieces of animals used in sacrifice, police blocks, and triggers off resonances of ancestors who might occupy the huge upholstered chairs and confront the viewer - and yet here the camera confronts the chairs. This seemed like an imaginary space of spirits, ghosts and ghouls.
'Day' video screen shots
The ‘Day’ pan of the room, seemed more benevolent and less daunting, with sunlight coming through the windows, bird song and outside the algae saturated pool, calm and tranquil, with the occasional plop from whiskered carp.
