Stream Line

A camera suspended from a motorized carriage follows the path of a flowing stream, running three feet above the water’s surface and at absolutely regular speed. By way of contrast, the stream runs fast and slow, cascading over boulders and swirling turbulently. Artist Chris Welsby has said ‘I think of the straight line formed by the tracking device as a metaphor for technology’.

He continued ‘the straight line does not dominate the landscape like a highway or a row of buildings; in this model the straight line is used as a means to articulate the complexity of nature. The tracking device is invisible to the viewer, but if one were to take the spool of film and roll it out on the floor one would see a surface of celluloid running parallel to the water surface, a second straight line complete with rocks and rushing water. When the film is projected the viewer becomes aware of this line through the passing of time; in Stream Line space is represented through duration.’ Chris Welsby has explored the possibilities and parameters of landscape filmmaking for over forty years, first shooting on 16mm, later working in HD and also making installations.