work-RLNR

⇠ selected works

2014 - Red Leaves No Residue | single screen video 30mins

Red Leaves No Residue

The film has as its central character the woman in red; it examines her love to varying degrees as overwhelming obsession and possible madness. The film is narrated both by the woman (a text written by Nooshin Farhid), and by a second anonymous voice at the beginning of the film, perhaps that of the film-maker who follows the woman in red, stalking her. The camera takes the role of a voyeur but rather than being in control, it is as fragile and vulnerable as the events it records. In the film a ‘ real’ passerby asks what the woman in red is doing. He expresses concern at being filmed and yet solicits the attention of the camera. He volunteers the information that he suffers from mental illness. His real life concerns merge with those of the woman in red.

Her presence is not one of passivity. We hear the woman’s voice narrating throughout the film, evoking her body, the counting of the hours past, the loss of domesticity, occasionally sharply cut by the voices of the documented reality around her, rough bartering, laughter, quarrelling in a busy London market. Farhid links her appearance with real life disturbances, such as footage of recent street protests in London, situations and locations that suggest social unrest, fractured relationships and impending collapse, a system in crisis. The films’ realism emphasises the poetry of her presence without sacrificing documentary poignancy.

Performance: Gerardine Coyne
narration: Gerardine Coyne
Naration: Vinita Joseph and Debbie White
Music: HK119 Aka Heidi Kilpelainen, One Little Indian Records & David Ben White

Exhibition:
2014 – Solo Exhibition, The Agency Gallery, London
2015 – Screening with Cinenove at The Showroom