Approximities
Approximities, 2020
HD Video
16 min 40 sec
Approximities presents us with a series of seemingly everyday vignettes. However, as the characters move in and out of the frame, the scenes increasingly gain an air of artifice.
The film builds on my experiences visiting a local park while living in Singapore. Spending long stretches of time at the park without a particular aim in mind, it has allowed my thoughts to roam freely and gently, amidst the company of strangers. One by one, alongside the scenery and vegetation, these strangers became a familiar presence. Reconstituting this familiar park space through my memories, I engaged with a group of friends in a long- distance choreography of enacting and translation. This process is a paradoxical task of establishing common ground within an artificially constructed situation.
Can we think of a park as a virtual space or vice versa, that enables us to gather regardless of physical distance? How do we rearticulate proximity under those conditions? How do we spend time?
Approximities, 2020, stills