BOXES (Excerpts)

Curran, Fiona ORCID: 0000-0003-0409-9151 (2016) BOXES (Excerpts). [Film / Video]

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Abstract

BOXES (Film, 2016, duration 7:40) is the third part of “The Scientist Series”, an exploration of death, acceptance, and renewal, born originally from a 9 part poetic cycle, in which a scientist tries to “distil” her grief, her loss, and extract its elemental meaning. A poetic documentary, initially, this film reveals the internal workings of a coffin factory, Vic Fearn Co. Ltd. (established initially in Victorian times, but existing in its present form since 1958) which is situated in Nottingham, downhill from one of the largest local graveyards. The film uses largely found sound (with some redesign) and records the process of the making of coffins to order, from infant coffins, through standard every day to the wildly bespoke. During the film, all of the processes of making are recorded, the workers presented as they are, efficient, and experienced. One particular part of the process, (the varnishing of the coffins) is singled out for extensive visual and sonic treatment/interference. The movement of the worker who coats the coffins, clad fully in protective clothing, begins his work with a gentle rhythmic sway, as he skilfully varnishes the final box we will all occupy. He performs a dance of death (and life), the movement pointedly freezing, during which we have a moment to contemplate both the action of making and the meaning of the box, which these men confront (and file that truthful inevitability in their own internal “box”) every single day. The film therefore, reflects on the nature of the “behind the scenes” aspects of death, the simple duties we fulfil for the dead, as we send them on their way to nothing, or to another kind of resting place.

Item Type:	Film / Video
Additional Information:	Film, (Duration 7:40, Excerpts, 2:17) Death as process, death as poetry; the dance of the craftsman as he finishes, with care, the final box The film is part of a cycle of works called the NB Series, which deals with grief and the "lack of" resting place 1.Shown at Kling Gut! Sound Symposium, The Hamburg University of Applied Sciences and the Audio Engineering, Wissenschaften Hamburg, Finkenau 3, 22081 Hamburg, Germany, 26th - 28th May, 2016 2.Screening. "The Descent of the Human" Close Up Cinema, 97 Sclater St, London E1 6HR, 20th October 2016
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Death, coffin, process film, sound scape, sonic, film, installation
Related records:	Abscission: A portrait of grief: A portf...
Subjects:	N Fine Arts > N Visual arts (General) For photography, see TR
Divisions:	Schools and Research Institutes > School of Creative Arts
Research Priority Areas:	Culture, Continuity, and Transformation Creative Practice and Theory
Depositing User:	Fiona Curran
Date Deposited:	01 Dec 2017 11:33
Last Modified:	01 Aug 2021 21:42
URI:	https://eprints.glos.ac.uk/id/eprint/5193

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