New video installation stars a runaway TV
Derivative, the new video installation hosted at the White Room in Takaka
Derivative, the new video installation hosted at the White Room in Takaka, invites the viewer to take a relaxed seat in a deep armchair and be spirited away into a whirlwind of colourful impressions and reflections.
Its creator, Jay Horton of Pheye Creative, specialises in video production and photography and is based at Wainui. He has a history in sound production and editing and holds a BA in Design and Art.
Jay explained that “derivative” refers to the process of having been compiled or assembled from many different components of other works by a range of artists, among them New Zealand artist Len Lye. These images have then been manipulated by being painted on or scratched prior to being captured on film.
“The material has been put through at least six processes,” said the video artist. “It has been taken from film to VHS, copied onto computer, put through a camera and recorded back into the computer and then played out through a TV. Then we took the TV to the beach and set it up on the Wainui estuary. We filmed the TV and the reflection on the water, and when it became dark the reflections really came alive - until the water reached the TV and it finally cut out.”
The video shows and reflects the manipulated footage on the darkening estuary. Suddenly the old TV begins to crackle and hiss before it dies – then, hidden from view, it breaks free and is carried off by the tide.
“This is the end of the video, when the water came in the TV it stopped,” said Jay. “I was really surprised to see it had gone; it was so heavy I’d never thought it would float. If anybody sees the one that got away I’d like to know because I want to clean it up. That this happens to me—who cleans up every bit of plastic from the beach—is kind of ironic. I am now on the lookout for another old TV for my next project, a big old one from the seventies, and I won’t let it go this time.”
The video runs for about 10 minutes and will be updated and added to every week with a re-edited version. Various footage can also be viewed on the website at pheye.co.nz.
The exhibition is open until 18 June at Lollokiki’s White Room during winter business hours, Thursday and Friday 10.30am to 4.30pm, and Saturday from 10.30am to 1pm.
Ina Holst
