Fog. And the Whole World Stops
Finalist of the International Contest of Contemporary Art in Lugano, Switzerland, 2014 & the WRO Media Art Biennale in Poland, 2015. Editors' Choice for Celeste Prize 2015. Published in Photomediations Machine & Anti_Utopias. Selected as one of the winners of London International Creative Competition (LICC), 2015. Selected for the Fermata exhibition at KALA Art Institute in Berkeley. A participant of the Contemporary Video Art and Performing Art Festival in Rome, 2016 and Borders, International Art and Architecture Festival - Fragmented Identities, in Venice, 2016, & Plexus Projects, NY 2019.
And The Whole World Stops is a series of video landscapes and a visual exploration of our daily environment that we often assume to be predictable and mundane. Through visualizing landscapes where awe and time reside together, I provide the viewer with opportunities to slow down and indulge in a brief moment of contemplation and reflection. A moment that we all need to live healthy and balanced lives.
We live in times when technology and culture interact with each other more than ever. Our contemporary, information-intensive environment shifts our perception of time passing and influences the way we navigate spaces, both physical and virtual. Unnecessary noise takes away our focus and affects our ability to see. Consequently, as Robert Irwin once pointed out, we miss out "on this visual Disneyland happening all around" us, all the time. But what happens when we slow down and take a look?
FOG is the first video landscape from the series And the Whole World Stops. For the site of my visual exploration I chose Crissy Field in San Francisco. For months I would walk there every morning, afternoon and evening to observe the life contained in that recreational space. Sometimes I would start walking at a fast pace, gradually slow down, and periodically stop to observe people interact in their natural environment. Soon I realized that my own perception of the environment was influenced by times of the day, changing weather conditions or simply my own state of mind and moods.
Within weeks of my exploration, I narrowed down my area of study to the Crissy Field Center and the San Francisco Yacht Harbor. In my attempt to develop mindfulness of my surroundings, I began to watch the area carefully and then photograph and film it.
On the second morning of my work on-site, I noticed two Great Blue Herons standing on a small hill, with five vertical-axis wind turbines in the background. The birds were interacting with each other, maintaining their graceful posture and mindful stillness in a busy environment. To my surprise, passing by walkers and joggers seemed to be oblivious or maybe indifferent to the magic taking place in front of their very eyes.
Eventually, a Great Blue Heron has become a metaphor in my work for mindful stillness and a symbol for surviving, adapting and thriving in an environment that is undergoing constant change.
Excerpts from the publication, And the Whole World Stops.
Fog. And the Whole World Stops part of Wro Media Art Biennale 2015 in Poland, shown in a public space: Renoma, Department Store (May 13 - June 30, 2015)
Fog. And the Whole World Stops part of Wro Media Art Biennale 2015 in Poland, shown in a public space: Renoma, Department Store (May 13 - June 30, 2015)
Fog. And the Whole World Stops part of Wro Media Art Biennale 2015 in Poland, shown in a public space: Renoma, Department Store (May 13 - June 30, 2015)
Fog. And the Whole World Stops part of Wro Media Art Biennale 2015 in Poland, shown in a public space: Renoma, Department Store (May 13 - June 30, 2015)
Fog. And the Whole World Stops part of Wro Media Art Biennale 2015 in Poland, shown in a public space: Renoma, Department Store (May 13 - June 30, 2015)