Vanishing Point brings together a collection of works by artist Simon Faithfull that each in their own way create a personal map of a place or journey. Faithfull’s newly commissioned video installation 30Km was created by attaching a camera to a weather balloon and releasing it into the atmosphere. Visitors will look down from the third floor balcony of the Pump House Gallery to see the image of an epic journey projected onto the floor below. The projection begins as the artist releases the camera but, instead of crashing to the ground, it glides mysteriously upwards. In a single shot the image shifts from an uncomfortable close-up of the artists face, to a view of a figure receding into the landscape and ultimately disappearing into cosmic insignificance. Within the image the pace of change begins to slow, the movement becoming less perceptible and as the balloon reaches the end of its journey at the edge of space the picture fades to black as the signal is finally lost. The resulting film can be likened to an imagined recording of an out-of-body experience, with the sway of the camera on its rapid ascent suggesting a dream or hallucination.
Kindly supported by JPMorgan.
