Footage (2021)
On June 28 2021, I set up a microphone and mic stand in front of a door labelled “012 Salle de Téléphone/Telephone Room.” Then, I connected the microphone to a boombox receiver using various cables. After leaving to purchase ice at a local store, I return to the same building and drop the bags in an unused studio/classroom. I bring the stereo set up into the room, leaving the microphone in the hall. I take bulldog clips out of a canvas tote bag and use them to join the blue Ikea bags together. After retrieving a chair I lower it into the bag arrangement and place the ice, still sealed in its commercial container, onto the chair and sit atop it. My feet are visibly off the floor.
The title of the work straddles two meanings of the same word. Footage can be a “film or videotape that shows a single event or place.” Footage also refers to how the size of rooms and buildings are measured, i.e square footage. Scales of distance and time are conflated in this work through the melting of ice and the shifting of my body, in addition to the empirical measurement of time offered by the clock. My work is clearly edited, an entire day elapses in 25 minutes. The telephone room, curiously named, beeps at a consistent rhythm and frequency. This beep permeates my video at regular intervals, acting as another measurement of time passing in addition to the clock ticking and the ice melting beneath me. It may also remind the viewer of a more clinical setting, such as the heart or oxygen monitor used in a hospital. Despite the performance having no direct audience, people do walk down the hallway and contribute to the piece.
Performance, concept and editing: Laura Paolini
Camera and Cinematography: Lesley Marshall (MAVN Network)
Post Services: Nathan Estabrooks (Space Tigers Studio)
Exhibitions:
- “Abound: Art from the University of Ottawa Department of Visual Arts 2021.” Participating artist. Ottawa Art Gallery. Ottawa. February 23– March 6, 2022 (The opening of this exhibition was delayed due to the occupation of downtown Ottawa by the so-called 'freedom convoy.' See the open letter from signed by several Ottawa Institutions here)
Distributed by Bridge. Available for viewing exclusively on Bridge Video
| laurapaolini_artiststatement_footage_mfa2021.pdf |