HD video – 55 minute loop / 4 channel / silent
A four-channel HD video installation commissioned by The Nines Hotel that dissects and observes the geometrical structure of Portland’s Fremont Bridge. Satellites features over 40 shots filmed precisely at dusk over a three-month period.
artist statement: I have been drawn to the mass and structure of the Fremont Bridge since moving to Portland in the early 1990s. The shape and magnitude of the bridge feel almost organic, and it connects to the landscape like a growth. The smooth tangle of on ramps, the trunk-like supports, and the arching frame make the bridge a monumental figure in Portland’s urban landscape. Throughout the shooting of Satellites, I was very interested in turning the bridge into an abstract object. At dusk, when the bridge is backlit by the sunset, the structure becomes a series of dark lines and shapes that dissect the sky. By filming entirely during the twilight moments just after sunset, I was able to capture the bridge only in silhouette. In composing the shots I also framed out the horizon, which removed the bridge from its natural setting and turn it into an otherworldly, free-floating satellite.
Satellites is on display and open to the public at the Nines Hotel in Portland, Oregon.
