deluge

Punctum ICU, Castlemaine, 2008

Dimensions variable. Multiple video loops, 5.1 channel sound loop, triggered sounds, monitors, paper, wire, glass, movement sensors, fog machine.

Drawing on video and sound recordings of water in regional Victoria and the effects of water on bodies. The work was was supported by a Punctum Seedpod residency. Link to seedpod info

Deluge was an immersive sound and video project that refered to the anticipation of water and its effect of taking over, temporarily transforming and overwhelming the space or body. It implied a threshold, a transitional state, or a border that can be crossed to another space, place, time or state of being. 

The installation drew on a sense of wonder and awe to create elevated feelings of a ephemeral dreamlike state. The work transformed the site ( ICU Castlemaine) into a space that seemed otherworldly – into an hallucinatory portal or threshold, a ‘magical’ secret space. Engaging a dynamic interplay between the underbelly of the building and an imaginary spirit world. The video work installation revolved around the psychological qualities of eerie but intriguing spaces often utilised in animation and films.The installation referenced science fiction, anime and Japanese horror films in which the underworld and lurking forces within dark spaces act as an embodiment of the subconscious. These films often exploit an Animist view of the world – where inanimate objects have spirits or a life force within. The building begins to come to life as it oozes water, suggesting a presence in the space.

Tara Gilbee and Andrew Goodman’s  video installation for ‘The big smoke’ related to the collaborative project in progress Deluge. The small video and sound pieces were part of a series of works which explored concepts about the transformative nature of and metaphors associated with water. In their recent work both artists have explored the experience of the human body. Drawing upon the writings of Deleuze and Bataille that advocate the immersion of the body in physical sensation, these projects explored the concept of ‘affect’, the direct physical connection between the viewer’s body and the ‘event’ that works to blur boundaries between the two.  In this small set of work the viewer’s engagement with was intimate and voyeuristic. 

for further information

Andrew Goodman
Blindside