A R C H I E F1 9 9 6  
.14
  Seoungho Cho
Forward, back, side, forward again
  USA 1995
Videotape, 10:47, colour, mono
Light is often a metaphor for the life-giving, the generous, but light is also a symbol for the absolute and the metaphysical primaeval force of existence which in endless repetition, disappears and returns. In a most subtle way, Cho’s tape deals with references to these attributions to and properties of light. The tape starts with a close-up of the filament in a light bulb with music (harmonium) played backwards. A woman’s voice tells a story about a boy and a bicycle; the tale proves to have a circular structure. The images are difficult to interpret, but now and then reveal silhouettes in a street, bathed in the orange glow of a brilliant sun at the end of the street. Rapid movements and slow-motion effects, together with the music and text, form a hypnotising cadence, that ensures that the sentence “light that glories what it touches” is literally illuminated.

Willem van Weelden

Text Tracy Leipold, Jeanette Winterson, Music Stephen Vitiello, Drum sample Bob Bielecky, Sound mixer Bill Seery, Voice Tracy Leipold, Production Namsik Kim


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