2007

single channel silent SD video loop

dimensions variable

total run time 3 minutes, 26 seconds

 

Real Explosions Reel takes as its starting point every explosion clip in the Artbeats "Real Explosions" stock video library. Compiled one after another, the resulting edit yields an unending series of detonations that attempts an ambiguous space between sublimity and absurdity. Typically, the individual explosions are used in special FX work where they augment science fiction battles or other, more mainstream fantastical movie scenes. Grouped together consecutively, the explosions as decontextualized "form" become their own content. The work seeks to offer commentary on an aesthetics of destruction that seemingly permeates contemporary media, from news outlets reporting on wars across the planet to Hollywood action flicks that treat violence and trauma in a cavalier way.

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