Underwritten by shadows still
by Silvia Maglioni and Graeme Thomson

Following on from their multi-faceted work on the Infra-Quark Universe, Silvia Maglioni & Graeme Thomson’s new film-performance underwritten by shadows still engages with subtitles as the auditory shadow of a hidden film whose scattered contours lie amid disparate images that silently demand new ways of listening.

This project in progress rethinks the performativity of subtitles as something potentially autonomous from the film dialogues they normally serve to translate. The procedure the artists have created is quite simple: they have selected around 300 subtitled frames (from the 700 pre-selected) from different films, and constructed a sequence so that each subtitle will link to that which follows and form one (or several) discourse(s). During the event, Silvia re-enacts the role of the projectionist, launching the sequence of the subtitled stills, while Graeme accompanies the images underwritten by shadows still with a live improvised electronic score.

A distant echo to Pasolini’s free indirect mode of discourse, underwritten by shadows still transforms the subtitle text into something akin to the neutral or middle voice. Rather than being a performance of a film, the process gives rise to a choral meta-film that begins performing its matter and speaking in its place.

Audio recording of the live improvised electronic score by Graeme Thomson.

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photos : view of the Silvia Maglioni and Graeme Thomson's performance during the first session of the cylce Le Film et son double of Erik Bullot, in April 2015 at Les Laboratoires d'Aubervilliers
_ copyrights Ouidade Soussi-Chiadmi