Plants & Shadows

This footage resembles many other elements in this collection, where JoAnn Elam investigates the potentialities of the cinematic medium to capture and transform shapes, colors, textures, movements, and light. Here, Elam first films a few plants by the windows inside her house, out of focus, shadows against the light, and then the furniture and the shapes and colors around her. The second segment looks as if it might be set during a film or slide projection. A filter might be used to obstruct our view and modify the images on screen. The third and fourth segments are more experimental, with Elam playing with editing techniques like double exposure to turn her surroundings into hypnotic and defamiliarizing visions. At the end, the footage shows plants again, perhaps in a shed.