it's okay if you don't understand the video at first. If it weirds you, that's even better! In one way, this video falls under Bourriaud's concept of critical materialism. As reality is filled with chance encounters, art is made of chance meetings of signs and chaotic forms. One does not automatically associate paper cranes with wildlife, much less paper cranes, wildlife, AND fire.
The video is based on a general concept: life and death. Creation is symbolized by the actual making of the cranes. Destruction is symbolized by burning the cranes. Scenes of animal strife and violence are juxtaposed with the cranes to make the point that this a process that can be observed in nature, and is, in fact, crucial in creating a stable ecosystem.
The response to the artwork is crucial. I want to hear the feelings and impressions of my audience, as their shared ideas will manipulate the reality of the art itself. In true relational art form, the participation of the viewers is crucial to the art itself.
I would like to thank Rose Broll for helping me film, and Jade for lending me a lighter (that inevitably ran out of lighter fluid). The song used is Ghostwriter Remix by RJD2. All of the video clips were appropriated from youtube, and depict scenes from the BBC series Planet Earth. Every single crane was harmed in the making of this video. I cannot speak on behalf of the animals, though I think it's pretty clear that a few suffered incredibly gruesome fates...
