Glimpse of another world with Vertical Video
4 September 2024, article
With Vertical Video, we show new work every two months in Amare’s public spaces. In September and October, that is Glimpse. We asked five questions to the artist Sondi to find out more.
In September and October your video artwork will be on display Amare. Can you tell us more about its meaning?
The video I’m showing at Amare currently is titled Glimpse. It’s a work that literally shows a glimpse into the virtual worlds I create in my work. The video is an 18 minute loop through a digital landscape where the camera flows through the imagined ecology of my dreams. The video is a continuation of my current research on rest, more specifically for black bodies, where I look into the potentiality of dreams as a space for collective refuge. What becomes possible when we rest? What do our dreams unravel?
Is there a connection between Amare and your artwork?
The locality of the work influenced the making greatly. While I was in the space at Amare, looking at the vertical wall and seeing the people passing by in this large building with lots of life and activities all around, I wondered how I could create a moment for contemplation and rest within this public space. I wanted to craft something that invites passers-by to slow down for a moment and contemplate, to immerse themselves into another world.
Can you tell us more about the making process?
A big part of my making process is thinking of the concept in relation to the space the work will be shown in. I started by being in Amare and walking around, exploring the space and the people that inhabit it, which lead me to the idea of the video. The digital worlds presented in the video are based on some pre-existing dreamscapes I had created. I combined multiple elements of my works and worlds with some new assets to create a vast digital landscape. Once the landscape was finished I added a digital camera and created a path that the camera would follow and render into a video. Once I was happy with the video and composition, I made a few post-editing adjustments and the work was finished.
What else do you do as an artist and where does your inspiration come from?
I work mostly digitally, I create interactive installations. Currently I’m working on my own video game. I’m inspired by popular media and how it influences our view of the world and ourselves. I combine my interest in popular media, gaming and technology with ancestral knowledge and spirituality to investigate the relation between our corporeal, physical and digital selves. I’m interested in questions of identity, belonging and forms of resistance. My work spans multiple mediums such as theatre, audiovisual performances, installations, ceramics, workshops and games. I also teach a theory and research course at the Design Academy Eindhoven.
What do you hope passers-by and visitors take away from your video artwork?
I hope that passers-by and visitor slow down a bit when they encounter the video. I hope that it makes them stop for a moment and contemplate, that it enables a moment of rest in our busy everyday life.
Discover more about Sondi and about Vertical Video
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