Elemental Studies by Various Artists
"This collection of original film score compositions represents a forthcoming 4-channel installation project, three years in the making, and is something of a collaborative labor of love, a melange of audio/visual synergy. This is most certainly the time in our history, no matter what our voice or style, that we speak for the ailing Earth in a way that may take some afterthought, and action. While some of the individual short films have already been featured in national and international film festivals it was a thrill to work with so many international sound artists who work in such varying styles, by pairing their compositions with my layered film work.
Nature’s four elements have traditionally been part of the functional core of our planet since the dawn of time. After the Industrial Revolution humans really have challenged the due course of organic life: Climate Change vs. Mother Nature has become imbalanced with a variety of stressful impact, especially in the 20th Century into the present. The elements, themselves, each court their own symbolism: air/wind (expansion/movement), earth (stability), fire (energy/rebirth), water (adaptation/fluidity). In modern times the elements strike up thoughts of fear as well: air (tornadoes), earth (fracking/quakes), fire (large scale forest fires), water (tsunamis/floods). The inherent capacity for change is in the balance between humankind and nature’s wrath. We live on a planet of biodiversity that has a changing, sometimes fragile ecosystem.
Often peaceful and yet wildly savage at times, the natural elements are Mother Nature’s system of checks and balances. This series of films takes artistic license in interpreting how these elements shapeshift in ways that are both non-narrative and illogical (organic). The way I see each of the individual elements is more of a meditation. This series of black and white film shorts get lost in the earthly elements, becoming a surreal mantra of sorts, and takes a necessary pause in a time of great change. The original score is something else, and genuinely has been an intense collaborative effort." –TJ Norris / www.tjnorrisart.com
In Memory of:
Salvador Francesch (1945-2022) + Sr. M. Thomas Norris (1925-2022)
