This project is presented by Galerie Caroline O’Breen (Amsterdam) – Booth 10 Main Fair
With her film installation ALMOST THERE Tara Fallaux investigates the interaction between 2- and 3dimensional realms, merging a cinematic analogue special effect from early 1900 theatre and visuals inspired by early cinema in newly created backgrounds. In her experiment the old optical illusion is transported to the present, using photography, film, photo backgrounds and a mirror.
A key aspect is the integration of a filmed floating female body. Placed within the centuries old theatrical contraption the floating body suggests a hologram, using the old Peppers Ghost Technique of reflection. Apart from the technical and aesthetic this is the philosophical theme that Tara explores: the ungraspable of the seemingly concrete. In this case the juxtaposition between a moving ephemeral body and the still environment in which it is projected. In the age of bewildering digital realities Tara pays tribute to the transparency of analogue special effects. What stuns here is the magic of simplicity.
For the accompanying soundscape Tara collaborated with musician Sterre Konijn. They decided to work with the theme of air and references to the early cinema era. Sterre composed a soundtrack mainly using her own voice and whispers together with the sound of the Theremin. The Theremin, invented in 1920, is an electronic musical instrument controlled without physical contact by the performer. It is played in the air. It is the only instrument in the world that can be played without needing to be touched. The magnetic field is changed by the varying distances between the two hands.