by Janis Rafa, 2014, 24'
| SCREENPLAY: 15’52” e 24’54” |
Courtesy the artist and Martin van Zomeren |
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| Photograpy: Thodoros Mihopoulos GSC |
Supported by: Amsterdams Fonds voor de Kunst, Alexander S. Onassis Foundation, Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten |
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| Sound: Aris Athanasopoulos |
Presented at VISIO – European Programme on Artists’ Moving Images - 4th editionIn A Sign of Prosperity to the Dreamer, the artist explores with stark realism the symbolic value and potential of lifeless animal bodies. However, Rafa rejects any macabre or fetishist element, seeking instead an aesthetic of the image that induces a tragic and at once surreal and meditative perception of the scene. The ascending movement of birds, emphasized by careful editing and slowmotion shooting techniques, suggests new balances and reflections on the transience of life and the tragedy of death. In the shape and symbolism of bird bodies we find clear references to painting, and the work could be seen as a contemporary still life.