Wandering Figures: April 2015

Stills from Closer (2015)

Closer (2015) SJ.Ramir

Synopsis:

Drawing on iconic religious imagery, Closer explores the interdependence of human fragility and faith - displaying redemption and transformation in a universal context.

Stills from In This Valley, My Heart Is Buried Deep... (2014)

In This Valley, My Heart Is Buried Deep (2014) SJ.Ramir

Synopsis:

“On the morning of my death – just after sunrise, and before my spirit had departed, a mysterious figure entered the house... “

In This Valley, My Heart Is Buried Deep, is an experimental narrative that uses a combination of visuals and text. Based on an actual dream, the video explores what it means to belong; connection to the land; connection to a place…

Stills from Our Hands Are Empty (2013)

Our Hands Are Empty (2013) SJ.Ramir

Synopsis:

“To understand life is to know that much of it is lived in the dark - there is very little daylight in our understanding or comprehension. To find truth, we need to reach out for it, but most often when we pull our hands back to examine what we have found, our hands are empty…”

Stills from No Place To Rest (2012)

No Place To Rest (2012) SJ.Ramir

Synopsis:

In "No Place to Rest", the viewer is led tentatively on a journey down a deserted gravel road and into a shadowy world of metaphysical landscapes. An abandoned cottage is encountered, and explored, revealing fragments of past lives, and invoking a sense of unease…

Stills from Disquiet (2011)

Disquiet (2011) SJ.Ramir

Synopsis:

Disquiet uses the movement of an anonymous figure through remote environments, to examine metaphysical journeys that are made through landscapes within the mind.

After travelling by foot through a dark, woodland forest, a figure enters into a desolate, desert-like world. Its journey is intercepted by a looming structure – representing visions of society, memory and need – which is explored, but ultimately rejected, leaving the figure to continue on its quest towards an unknown destination.

Stills from Cold Clay, Emptiness... (2010)

Cold Clay, Emptiness... (2010) SJ.Ramir

Synopsis:

In Cold Clay, Emptiness... an anonymous figure moves in slow motion through an empty and remote rural environment. The figure's journey is intercepted by symbolic images - representing visions of society, memory and need - which are explored, but ultimately rejected, leaving the figure to continue on its quest towards an unknown destination. Pixels are enhanced through the use of custom-made lens filters, to create new textures within the work, and eliminate superfluous detail.

Stills from Into Daylight (2009)

Into Daylight (2009) SJ.Ramir

Synopsis:

In much of his video art, SJ.Ramir utilises geographical landscapes – and the movement of people through them, as a metaphor, to explore the notion of metaphysical journeys that we make across landscapes within in the mind. In a slight deviation from his usual style, Into Daylight is a widescreen ‘cinematic response’, to this theme. In it, Ramir has employed classic filmic devices - such as composed vignettes and slow camera pans - in combination with a lulling cinematic soundtrack, until a change in atmosphere occurs, and a lone figure, in silhouette, is revealed to be travelling through a remote and desolate terrain. The destination is not known. The focus is simply on the figures journey.

Stills from Our Voices Are Mute (2008)

Our Voices Are Mute (2008) SJ.Ramir

Synopsis:

In Our Voices Are Mute, geographical landscapes are used to explore the concept of intangible journeys that are made through metaphysical landscapes of the mind. Anonymous figures move in slow motion through desolate and remote environments. At times their journeys are intercepted by symbolic images, representing visions of society, memory and need - which are explored, but ultimately rejected, leaving the figures to continue on a quest towards an unknown destination.

Stills from Taupiri (2007)

Taupiri (2007) SJ.Ramir

Synopsis:
Taupiri is an exercise in light and pixel manipulation. Using a photographic still taken in 1992, of a lone cabbage tree, a custom-made filter was placed in front of the lens and maneuvered to bend and shape the light entering into the camera. The end result is a clustered, kaleidoscope effect of pixels moving like a comet across the screen, and illuminating the original photographic image.

Stills from Man Alone (2006)

Man Alone (2006) SJ.Ramir

Synopsis:
In Man Alone, a mysterious figure sets out on a journey through a murky and dank rainforest. The destination is not known. A sense of bleakness and isolation underscores the narrative.

Stills from Departure (2007) and Gulf Transmission (2006)

Departure (2007) SJ.Ramir

Synopsis:

Departure explores both emotional and geographical landscapes of isolation. An anonymous figure sets out on a journey - moving through a harsh and sun burnt terrain, towards an unknown destination. Pixels are enhanced in the video work by the use of custom-made lens filters, to create pointillist textures, and eliminate superfluous detail.

Gulf Transmission (2006) SJ.Ramir

Friday 17 April 2015