(Video still from Jessica Faiss work Halong)

See a slideshow of video stills from Smoke, Desert and Halong >>>



Three mesmerizing works by Jessica Faiss
We are proud to present the second artist in the series Public Projections - Gothenburg. Swiss born Faiss, now living and working out of Sweden, moves between video, photography, performance and painting. Her work has been shown in Japan, Sweden and Italy. We invited Faiss as we think she will spark an interest amongst the many visitors to the International Film Festival in Gothenburg during the first two weeks of February. The works she has selected for the series at Aview Nomad Gallery are all emblematic for her specific expression.

In Smoke, Desert and Halong one can feel a presence of something unspoken. It is a tension partly created via the movement within the frame, along the dominating visual line. The three works shown in the Public Projection series are silent. The suspense keeps building up with a set of minimal components. The expectation on something to interfere with the solid, slow movement increases as the films goes on. In Faiss work there is no editing between scenes, it is the natural movement of smoke, or the journey along the direction of the river or road that contributes to creating the dynamics.

The works border on being inner and outer landscapes, dreams and reality. The solitude prevails over the motion creating sceneries with a distinct form of presence, abject but at the same time mesmerizing and mystic rather than fearful, an inner contemplation and mystical union with nature.

Video works by: Jessica Faiss
Screening date: February 2010
Venue:
AVIEW NOMAD GALLERY - Public Projection Series
Screening Location:
Magasinsgatan 3-5, Gothenburg, Sweden



Smoke
Duration: 3.43 min
Year: 2007

"Smoke shows us an incense stick that is consuming. We only see the smoke scrolling upwards against a dark neutral background. I reversed the picture and the result became quite abstract." JF

Desert
Duration: 5.40 min
Year: 2001
"This video was filmed in Egypt, from a bus. We can see a dark road, and the bright sand around. It is a never ending loop. We never reach any goal. The window is dirty and creates an usharp mask on the movie. We can get association to a traditional landscape painting, while the camera is moving extremely little. The colors are moderate and I slowed down the rhythm of the trip." JF

Halong
Duration: 4.30 min
Year: 2006
" The almost monochrome seascape was shot on a misty day from a boat in Halong Bay in northern Vietnam. The travelling reflects the trajectory of the vessel (through the calm waters of real time). The piece alludes to the usual cinematic images of the region. Yet it also evokes the blurry landscapes and seascapes that embodied the impressionist movement in painting one hundred years before the war in Vietnam. " JF

Preview of Smoke >>>
Preview of Desert >>>
Preview of Halong >>>
Text by Kristoffer Arvidsson on Jessica Faiss (Swedish only, Den stillastående rörelsen – Jessica Faiss och Ninia Sverdrups videomeditationer>>>
Jessica Faiss website >>>


The Jessica Faiss screening is the second program in the series Public Projections. A project by AVIEW NOMAD GALLERY in close partnership with Sätila Holding AB.