Site-specific video installation, including: 5.1 surround sound, wooden benches, matte ceramic tiles, elevated structure.

Dimension variable.

Description

Here & Now (2023) expands on Hieu’s early video work Here & Now (2014) but with significant changes brought about by time. This video installation foregrounds the idea of the superimposition of multiple realities by taking the audience on a journey that has no clear destination. Spanning the observer’s entire field of vision and augmented with surround sound that firmly situates the viewer on a directional train, the black and white video moves between poetic imagery to heart-racing acceleration. The wind and the rustling of trees are punctuated with the rhythmic cadence of the train’s wheels. Located on the embankment are two benches, completing the interior of a train station, or perhaps a cinema.

The 13-metre length screen is made possible with the use of three short throw projectors, with video sources shot with a zero-distortion lens in 12K resolution, stabilised by a motorised gimbal to resist the vibration of the fast-moving train. Specially programmed software seamlessly shuffles the video source so that the projection seems to run in an infinite loop, intentionally obscuring its beginning and end. Mundane scenes unfold on an unfamiliar scale, drawing attention to the pulse and the sensation of one’s audiovisual perception. The scenery questions location. The velocity questions time. The sound questions space. Spectators unwittingly embark on a generative voyage left to determine their own stop despite knowing the journey will continue nonetheless.

Source: Galerie Quynh.