Breaking the Surface
by Joanna Griffin

Video still from Breaking the Surface
Synopsis:
For this work, Griffin recorded radio telescopes and helicopters and the coming and going of submarines on the Plymouth sound, bringing together mythologies and folk tales of the sea with the harsh realities of engineered machinery.
Working with the substance of surveillance - the digital recording, the monitor, the film archive of innocuous military exercises, the note-taking, the watching and waiting - Griffin resists creating a theatre of spectacular narratives. Rather the impact of her work is quiet and slow burning. It elicits a strong sense of foreboding in the unsuspecting viewer by exploring the associations of a society under observation.
Details:
Year | 2002 |
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Audio | Yes |
Colour / B&W | Colour |
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External links:
Screening history:
23 August – 22 September 2002
Plymouth Arts Centre, Plymouth, Devon
Artists
Joanna Griffin
An artist and educator based in the South West of England, Joanna Griffin's practice examines structures with political and scientific significance.