On Cinephilia (2005-2017)
70 frames bound in an 6" by 12" book
Curated from nearly 1000 discarded 35mm and 16mm celluloid films, On Cinephilia is the culmination of years of working with a now obsolete format. One 10 minute reel of 35mm film contains over 14,000 individual frames. Each frame is a unique still image that--through the persistence of vision--we meld into a moving image.
All projected film reels, played on a traditional projector, consists of footage at the front and end of the film that is used to lace up the projector. These pieces of ephemeral film--never meant to be viewed by the audience--are never blank. Most have a countdown before the picture starts to help the projectionist set the film up properly. But also many different words and images appear, from women holding color test charts, to the name of the actual film. There are punch marks and arrows. There are sometimes pieces of other films if the top of the film is damaged and there isn’t enough footage to properly lace the projector.
After attempting to restore each images in the collection, the frames were organized to tell a story. One in which every part of the unseen elements of a physical film print are viewed. From the the sprockets and soundtrack on each individual frame, to the heads and tails only meant for post-production and projections--all are given equal importance.