SPACETIMEMACHINES > motion pixels in the shape of:
> Pirate television stations in Italy > power hungry decepticons in search of uranium > microbiotic life on Mars > direct actions in the Central Highlands > squat art galleries in western suburbs > big brother and the death of reality > glitched out commuters > metaphysical hip hop in the northern territory > indymedia mash-up essays > Aboriginal guerilla newscasts > Ginsberg poetics > military entertainment complexities > aliens in the outback > an artist in love with a discontented muse > and a few doses of spiritual molecules...
SPACETIMEMACHINES> DVD launch and screening of motion pixels by media artist Tim Parish, founder of Undergrowth Magazine. A 2hr collection of shorts, music videos, and short
documentaries. ʻSpaceTime Machinesʼ is a 2 hour collection of works by Darwin born
writer, artist and filmmaker Tim Parish screening at Happy Yess, 5 Bennnett St, Darwin City this thursday the 7th of September. FIlms Start 8pm
ABOUT THE FILMS
Parish explains the title of his compilation; ʻOver the years Iʼve come to think of cameras
as a kind of time machine because they allow us to travel back in time once a
moment has passed. The spatial fluidity of the motion picture is something even more
immersive. It allows us to record space and time, cut it up, remix it and then rebroadcast,
filling the walls with our imagination. I see each of these films is a kind of new
invention playing with technology, a space time machine.”
The films in the program span Parishʼs eclectic interests in the possibilities of the video/
filmmaking medium, ranging from short films to animation, music video to political
documentary fuelled by beats , samples and motion graphics. A willingness to experiment
with the form is a key factor that unites the videos in the SpaceTime Machines
compilation.
“ These films cover a wide range of styles and techniques I have experimented with
over the last few years, from the political to the poetic, experimental to hip hop, playing
with sampled footage to shooting live action with actors, - so there is definitely a lot
of variety over the two hour compilation.”
Over the years, Parish has also collaborated with musicians from all around Australia,
including Darwin artists such as Kris Keogh (Blastcorp, Justin Moon (Chuan) and hiphop collectives Culture Connect, none of which he says have yet been screened in Darwin, so this will be there premiere. Other videos feature music by Gondwana, Combat Wombat, DJ Shadow, Beethoven, Yum, DJ TR!P and Enduser.
In his documentaries produced while working with SKA TV's Access News and Oceania Indymedia, Parish has covered political issues as diverse as the Aboriginal tent embassy, the logging of old growth forests, media activism, stencil art in Melbourne, and uranium mining, each with a unique style and form not often used by mainstream documentary incorporating influences from experience as a VJ and freelance video artist.
“Some of my work is really a cross between documentary and music video, because Iʼm trying to make the material more attention grabbing for an audience raised on clever editing and visual effects. The so-called MTV generation. Then on the other extreme Iʼve produced minimalistic films experimenting with the visualising soundscapes, what I think of as moving paintings.”
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Tim Parish grew up in Darwin and studied Fine Art at the Northern Territory University
where he was also the editor of the student paper The Delirra before becoming interested
in filmmaking. He then studied Media Arts at RMIT in Melbourne, where he
also learnt documentary while producing a community television show called Access
News. Since then he has produced a body of work that dances inbetween video art
and documentary, music video and short film. His work has been screened in festivals
all around the world, including Electrofringe and Wild Spaces (Aus), Ok Video (Jakarta),
Transmediale (Germany), Docomania (NZ), Democracy Now (US) and more.
As a freelance video artist, Parish has also exhibited work in a number of experimental
ways, “I have worked on a whole lot of unconventional ways to explore the
potential of digital video, from installations in art galleries, live video mixing at parties,
theatre with shadow puppets (at last years Darwin Festival for the show Diburu
Waktu), and with mobile projection units (which I will be doing again in the Melbourne
Fringe Festival this year).”
Many of Parishʼs films can be found on the internet where they are hosted as part of
independent media art publishing channel he has helped to create called Undergrowth.
org which Tim describes as ʻa nexus point for art and creative activism.” On the
possibilities of online video distribution outlets for independent producers he says:
“I am fascinated with the power of new, affordable technologies such as the video
camera and the laptop to democratise the process of making media. Some of my work
explores the issues of media control, other talk about ways of circumventing it, and
others merely enjoy playing within the possibilities of the medium.”
SPACE TIME MACHINES will be showing for one screening only at Happy Yess,
5 Bennett St this Thursday the 7th of September at 8pm.
Entry is $5 or $15 with a copy of the DVD.
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PREVIEW VIDEOS:
Natural Intelligence with music by Culture Connect
Uranium featuring music by Yum.
Central Highlands Blockade > produced with SKA TV
Telestreets: The Italian Telejacking Movement
Also on the DVD:
The Muse (2000) - music by The Hot Club
The Visitor (2001) - music by Gondwana
Spaceship Earth (2002) music by Combat Wombat
The Empty Show (2002) - music by DJ Shadow
Military Entertainment Complex (2003) - music by Beethoven
Landscape Painting (2002) videopoem ftg. words by Alan Ginsberg
The Drift (2005) - with rhymes by Tim Parish and Fergus
Inbetweening (2004) music by Blastcorp
Reality (2002) Big Brother and the death of reality
Pi (2002) music by Chaun (NT)
Crumbs (2003) music by Chuan
Mars - (2004) video clip for DJ TR!P (SA)
Available separately:
The Oracle (2004) - short film with Sam Hoffman, Claire Wren and Dominic Allen based on the writings 'Eat This Information, The Simulacrum and The Oracle publishged in Undergrowth Magazine. (20 mins)
