SUFFUSION OF YELLOW

2021, duration: 10 min

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»Suffusion of Yellow« was realized on behalf of the Emscherkunstweg, the cooperation project of Urbane Künste Ruhr, Emschergenossenschaft and Regionalverband Ruhr, as the second contribution of its series »Emscherkunstweg online«.

In a cinematic collage, Ani Schulze interweaves different visual and narrative strands to create a surreal dream world. Mythological stories, such as those of the sirens invoked in the opening sequence, or oracles, such as the prediction of the future through the interpretation of the flight of birds, form the frame of reference. At the same time, images of dew beats recall the tradition of pigeon breeding in mining regions such as the Ruhr.

Water appears as a living element that does not flow freely, however, but appears enclosed in masonry. Possibly the artist is alluding here to the Emscher, which for decades was confined in a concrete corset. In the film, the Emscher reconstruction as a process of renewal of the battered landscape is related to acts of purification, like the burning out of toxic excrement in a pigeon loft. Flute players perform seemingly ritual acts that lead into a rhythmic and meditative sound level. Next to them are close-ups of a human dummy used in medical research with connected equipment and tubes, questioning possible instruments of a cure.

The title »Suffusion of Yellow« refers to one of the oldest Chinese text collections, the »I Ging«, which is received as an oracle or wisdom book.