Look Up - A screening and analysis of my practice research into space, time and grief through film

Banks, Liz

Abstract

Exploring the spatial and temporal issues of grief, this presentation will consist of a screening of ‘Look Up’, my short film (2012, 5.04 min) and a paper that explores the processes of interdisciplinary research with a focus on the visualization of space, time and the body.

The paper will suggest that during times of grief our relationship with space and time shifts – sometimes quite radically, but often rather imperceptibly - and we experience a different type of embodiment within the everyday. During this suspended state memories mix with dreamtime to create a less linear temporality, allowing us space for grieving and – on occasion - spiritual uplift. Taking a phenomenological approach, I argue this experience is not purely mental, but is felt, sensed and ‘interactive’. The film attempts to demonstrate this ‘being’ and shows how digital media can be used to convey the ineffable and liminal, and point towards a posthuman and non-anthropocentric philosophy.

The film is not only a visual and aural interpretation of the grief experience, but also the outcome of a period of study on the representation of a particular landscape. Through reflecting on the making of the film, I will look at how landscape with its potentiality for evoking nostalgia and specific moments of recall can serve as a mirror for the grieving process. Deconstructing the image and narrative form, I will discuss my choice of aesthetic, mise-en-scene and installation space with the overall aim of immersing the audience in the temporal dimension of loss and grief.

• Presentation Conference Type: Conference Paper (unpublished)
• Conference Name: Material Environments: Sensing Time and Matter in Digital and Visual Culture
• Start Date: Jul 24, 2015
• End Date: Jul 25, 2015
• Publication Date: Jul 23, 2015
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 6, 2019
• Peer Reviewed: Not Peer Reviewed
• Keywords: space, time, grief, moving image, film, materiality, digital and visual culture
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/831026
• Additional Information: Title of Conference or Conference Proceedings : Material Environments: Sensing Time and Matter in Digital and Visual Culture