I have never seen a horizon like this
2020
12’19’’
Sound
Camera: Alexandros Pissourios
Additional camera: Maria Anastassiou
Sound recordist: Maria Anastassiou
Camera Assistant: Alexander Nguen
Additional Sound Recordings: Models on set
Since 2015 I have been employed as a videographer on fashion shoots, to work beside photographers, and create ‘behind the scenes’ videos. The purpose of these videos is not to compete with the photographer but to create second-order content for advertising purposes. In this image-based economy, questions circulate around what is valuable and to whom, and these are constantly negotiated between videographer, the official photographer and the clients/agents. In "I’ve never seen a horizon like this", I revisit footage from a luxury fashion campaign shoot during a week in Vietnam in July 2019. Briefed at the time to capture and edit secondary content as well as ‘behind the scenes’ videos, this work is composed of material that would be considered useless to commercial profit. Sidestepping the shoot’s central action, models and key characters, I scan the periphery, capturing the Vietnamese landscape and people who surround the glossy, industrious Western crew. At times, I catch myself searching for a frame, while at other times the locals are my focus. Disregarding the marketing objective, this video functions as a personal contemplation on the relationship between being an artist and an industry professional, public and private images, imported and local life. Questions around copyright are explored through the dynamic relationship between text and image, specifically in the use of subtitles. These are taken directly from my ‘Work For Hire’ agreement which outlines what the services, billing and confidentiality terms are, and how they apply to these images. Voices are employed as another controlled mechanism of advertising but they appear in a surreal phonetic mishandling of the word “horizon” (from Greek horizein = bound, limit, divide, separate).
Together / Apart : Going New Places
An online exhibition, organised by the Cyprus High Commission in the UK
Cultural Section and sponsored by the Cultural Services
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports and Youth of Cyprus.
8 May – 30 June, 2020
Curated by Marina Hadjilouka