NO SIGNAL

I see film and photography as artifacts, records of experiences where, the process of recording the moment is at-the-same-time the creation of the moment. This process is the documentation of my presence in the experience as much as it is of the image that is recorded. My current work is non-narrative, has its own voice and speaks to each viewer individually. I feel that the experience of the viewer viewing IS the narrative as is my experience with the subject and the creation of the work. With my background being experimental photography using pinhole cameras, Polaroid, box cameras and a variety of hybrid home made cameras, the exploration of pinhole, low-res and computer generated video came as a natural progression. I started with the cheapest "off -the-shelf" Wal-Mart digital web-cam (at $18 dollars) and soon moved up to cheap throwaway video cameras purchased at a local (CVS) pharmacy that I adapted to shoot as pinhole. Lens-cap pinhole Mini-DV High8 videos then followed. The very first were lit using only a flashlight (Voyeur, 2006) employing vintage anonymous snapshots as subjects to zoom in on as if they were actors and sets and (Glamour Girl, 2007). Soon, I began creating short-short clips of ordinary subjects that would have been great just as still images. I named these short works Flash-Films as a nod to the literary genre "flash-fiction".
In the experimental videos that followed, I began exploring the breaking down of the image into its most basic digital elements. Layers of effects are added with random imperfections and glitches welcomed as further enhancements. The videos often have a dreamy "noire" feeling, much like that of early 20th century avant-garde films, and sometimes are merely glimpses into the "essence" of a moment. These works are fascinating cyber explorations into the exciting and uncharted fringes of new 21st century filmmaking. While created with much different technology and tools, they are, at heart, still embodied with the same spirit as those flickering, grainy black and white experimental films that were so passionately created in the beginning of the 20th century. Current projects explore shooting in Super8 film, the usage of out-of-date films, and shooting with vintage forgotten cameras. My projects are a continuation of my fascination with the mono-no-aware sentiment in the obsolete and the abandoned - qualities inherent to analog processes. For me, the excitement is in discovery, process and exploration. In the end, it is the journey and not the destination that really matters.
Contact: davidellisimages@gmail.com