NOCTURNES [2013]
35mm slide projection, 2 carousels, and text-loop on dot-matrix screen.
NOCTURNES is the culmination of a two month residency in Finsbury Park, commissioned by AIR at Central Saint Martins. The research was structured as a series of night shifts, and the resulting work was formed through a number of exchanges with night shift workers in the area, including taxi drivers and bowling alley attendants. NOCTURNES was presented on 16 December 2013, between sunset at 15:51 and midnight, and comprised two 'channels': a series of 35mm colour photographs transferred to 35mm slide, and installed as a double-projection in a dis-used taxi rank on Berriman Road; and a short text work, 'published' as a loop on a dot-matrix screen at Rowans Tenpin Bowl on Stroud Green Road. NOCTURNES drew upon the social as much as mythical dimensions of the night, and pivoted around an embodied investigation into communal experiences of time, within the phenomenon of 24/7.
For some must watch, while some must sleep: So runs the world away.
[Shakespeare, 'Hamlet', c.1602, Act III, Scene II]
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Images: Frances Scott, 'NOCTURNES' [2013], 35mm still images. Commissioned as part of 'A Million Minutes', an Islington Council project supported by Arts Council England and produced by AIR at Central Saint Martins. With many thanks to: Abdul, Heysam and Hadi at Safari Mini Cabs; Terry, Dave and Sam at Rowans Tenpin Bowl; Ali at N7 Cars; and to all those working the night in Finsbury Park, who through conversation and generous exchange, have contributed to this research. Project Assistant: Harrison Moore.