Take a minute to check out The White Room’
Rob Dawson whose video installation is running at The White Room. Photo: Ina Holst.
Just a Minute—Do you have five minutes to drop into the White Room and watch a video installation? If you do, and don’t want the mystery about the why and what spoiled by the following information, stop now and resume reading after you watch this little compilation by local photographer Rob Dawson.
The video came about when Rob was asked by someone if he could spare “just a minute”, but he was in such a rush that he didn’t have a minute to spare. In response to his own reaction he decided to put together a sequence of five short films. All are one minute long, but are perceived by the viewer as being of different lengths, and explore the perception of time. Rob has worked in television and understood the power of editing, and applied this to his film snippets.
“All films are exactly one minute long, but I know myself that if you edit something, a minute can feel like a short time or like a very long time. It is about slowing down, looking and observing and taking your time. I like contrast and most of my other work has to do with contrast. I had the idea kicking around for a while in my head,” he said. “Watching the paint dry makes the clip feel longer, and on the other end you’ve got the clip with the music. Watching it captures people and you feel it goes much faster.”
Rob is a professional photographer with a Diploma in Art and Design, and is also a passionate mountain biker. He moved from the UK to Golden Bay some years ago and has been helping with the high school’s mentoring programme and photography classes. After working for television companies in Europe, India and South Africa for many years, he has decided to concentrate on his own projects for a while and works from his gallery in Motupipi Street.
“If I am not taking photos then I am printing them or do some work on the computer. I can’t help it; being creative is just what I do.”
Ina Holst
The video installation can be viewed at the White Room, Commercial Street, for the next two weeks.
