Making a film poem
This time last year, I talked to my pal and collaborator Steve Smart about making another film together. Over the last couple of years we’ve worked on ‘Foraging’ about the way I find the trees which inspire my work and ‘Connecting’, which show how I get to know their individual characters through drawing. He created two beautiful short films which you can see here.
Steve’s new vision was to capture elements of my work as a film poem, in what he called ‘time based paint’. He talked about weaving strands of imagery, movement, words and music together to evoke the way I transform elements of tree and figure into my artworks, in a poetic rather than documentary form. In truth I wasn’t entirely sure what that might look like but, totally trusting his creative judgement and technical abilities, we set off on a new project.
It was always intended as a collaboration with others too and we were very lucky to develop the piece with performance artist Suzi Cunningham and musician and academic Professor Zack Moir. Much of the fiming was done at Marchmont Makers Foundation while I was on residency there last June – it was the perfect setting.
The artistic form of a film poem is something quite unique in the way it blends imagery, words, music and sound into an intense and deeply affecting experience.
I’m delighted to show you the final result of our work, ‘Transforming’.
You can watch the full film and read more about its makers here»
See all Steve’s films about my work here»