absolute ceiling c.k. reynolds statement

absolute ceiling (video projection still), 2005

absolute ceiling absolute ceiling 1 is a new body of work informed by theories of the contemporary sublime and phenomenology. It comprises 2 parts: 6 looping digital video DVDs on 6 floor-based monitors aligned in a strip, plus 2 looping digital video DVDs projected onto the wall just below ceiling level. Combined, the works immerse the viewer in an experience of visual phenomena whilst engaging with ideas of space, time, nothingness and the sublime, particularly a technological sublime. Incorporating cloud sky sun and aircraft as symbols, the works seek to directly engage with ideas of space, time, scale, and perspective by utilizing a multiplicity of perspectives and fluctuating expanses that allude to the relativity of scale and perspective. The central floor-based video installation is a sequence of aerial video works that make reference to Barnett Newman s Zip paintings. The aerial space disorientates, evoking a sense of vertigo. The work comprises 12 separate video sequences, each made up of 6 individual video clips, presented on 6 monitors located in a line on the floor, with each monitor (ideally) positioned with a gap of 34 2 between each monitor. 1 Absolute Ceiling is the maximum height above sea level at which an aircraft can maintain horizontal flight. Planes fly due to air pressure changes caused by the shape of their wings. At certain altitudes, the density of air isn t enough to support the weight of the plane, subject to the load on their wings. This point is called the Absolute Ceiling. Absolute in philosophical terms is the ultimate basis for reality, that which is totally unconditioned, unrestricted, perfect or complete. Ceiling in the dictionary is defined as the upper limits, maximum, and the inner upper surface of physical architectural space. Definitions sourced from The Collins English Dictionary 2 nd Edition (1987), Collins, London; and technical information sourced from Woman Pilot Magazine, July 2002. 2 The average maximum legroom in economy class is 34. Airlines measure legroom as seat pitch, which is the distance from the front of the seat to the back of the seat in front. Malaysian, Lufthansa, Japan, and American Airlines, plus Air New Zealand, Thai Airways, Air France, Air China, and Air Canada are the only international airlines that provide the maximum legroom of 34. The minimum legroom required by the Civil Aviation Authority is 26.

The series of 12 video sequences form a 12-minute presentation, which is then looped. Each individual video clip is 30-seconds long and is repeated twice to create the 12 minutes of video content. The line of monitors is arranged horizontally on the floor in the centre of the room creating a sculptural object that evokes the experience of being inside an aeroplane, reflecting the rows of monitors on the rear of passenger seats that can be found within most aircraft. There are also 6 blades on each engine propeller, which is reflected in the choice of 6 video monitors. absolute ceiling (installation shot), 2005 Installations can enable us to see the world in a new way. I am interested in using repetition, light and space to uncover diversity, and to present work that challenges our perception. The decision to locate the monitors on the floor is a mechanism intended to remind the viewer of themselves in relation to their body, creating a heightened sense of scale in relation to the row of monitors - so that the viewers become aware of themselves in the act of seeing. The different video sequences are difficult to locate, and often jar against the continuous monotonous engine sound. This audio helps us to locate the work. The sound is the sound of technology, the deep hum of aircraft engines. That engine sound is however also interspersed with the sound of human activity the captain s welcome, the cabin crew s announcements, the barely audible human chatter above the droning hum of the engine, and that familiar ding sound, which alerts the crew to the needs of passengers and the flight deck. Whilst the video images are of airspace mediated by technology that point to a sense of awe and wonder, the contrasting audio element returns the work to the human and to the lived experience. This work seeks to immerse the viewer in the experience of phenomena, where the repetition of the video sequences builds the physicality of the work. absolute ceiling (installation shot), 2005

The two projected videos are diptychs projected behind the row of monitors projected onto the wall at just below ceiling. The diptychs present paired aircraft wings alternated with paired views of water from the air, the water being immeasurable expanses. The purpose of presenting, repeating and looping the range of video sequences is intended to engage the audience in a concentrated process of confronting and revealing what is present. Repetition in its simplest form can create the look of minimalism. absolute ceiling is however different from a minimalist practice. Making reference to Roni Horn s use of pairings, the diptychs are intended to indicate the idea of the absolute in interstitial space in order to reinforce a sense of awe and wonder. absolute ceiling, (video projection still), 2005 Thierry de Duve talks about site being a harmony of place, space and scale (Duve in Neri, 2000, p.94). With the aerial view of unquantifiable expanses of water as site, and in the absence of any clear geometric space into which we can comfortably ascribe ourselves, we are unable to position ourselves or to find our feet, so we are thrown back onto the material absolute ceiling, (video projection still), 2005 presence of our own bodies.

The visual spaces presented in absolute ceiling are not boundless as in the manner evoked by the romantic sublime. The aim is not to summon the terror or awesomeness of the sublime. They are in fact images of light formed by light. The source of the light is sometimes located beyond the edge of the image, sometimes reflected in it, and sometimes centrally positioned within the image. The sky is the place of the event. The event is direct sunlight or reflected sunlight on water, on clouds, or on parts of aircraft - mediated through contemporary technology. I was taught never to shoot into the sun. When rendered in-camera, the sun, as a result of the extreme levels of light created by it, facilitates the effect of the digitalized extended vertical line or Newmanesque Zip. Technology is continuously referenced in these works through the inclusion of the engines, wings or propellers, through the digitized effect of the created-in-camera zip, and through the audio environment, where the constant sound of the engines hum is mixed with the faint sound of human voices. absolute ceiling therefore seeks to present & reflect & repeat & re-present & so on phenomena that have been experienced as moments of everyday lived experience, which raise questions that point to theories of sublime and phenomenology. c.k. reynolds June 2006 cheryl@mediarts.net.nz