Film and Video Umbrella

PROJECTS

Solstice

2008

Neeta Madahar

Two high definition video projections presented opposite each other in the gallery, show time-lapse footage recorded over 24 hours from midnight to the following midnight during both the Summer and Winter solstices.

The material was shot in rural Wiltshire, an area steeped in associations between the land and night sky in relation to seasonal changes. Each hour of footage has been condensed into one minute of material, creating two 24 minute long films that are experienced simultaneously. A specially commissioned orchestral soundtrack composed by Miguel d??Oliveira, and performed by the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, accompanies the visuals.
Specific notes, instruments and melodies are used to evoke the sensation of summer heat or the coldness of winter or night, creating an immersive environment in the exhibition space.
The premiere of Solstice is taking place at Harewood House in Leeds, alongside Cosmoses, a group of large-scale unique photograms of origami cosmos flowers.
In both works, Madahar represents the physical world in unusual ways enabling the viewer to immerse themselves in stillness and intimate details. Ordinary scenes are exposed in crystalline detail, albeit in a strangely altered, exaggerated form.

Harewood House, 15-Mar-08 to 31-May-08
Harewood House Trust, Harewood, Leeds, LS17 9LG

PM Gallery & House, 20-Jun-08 to 20-Jul-08
Walpole Park Mattock Lane Ealing London W55EQ

Aspex Gallery, 03-Dec-08 to 01-Feb-09
The Vulcan Building Gunwharf Quays Portsmouth PO1 3BF