Drift :: Domestic Oblivion

Showing at the Noarlunga Arts Centre for Shimmer Photography Festival:

Drift- Domestic Oblivion I from Sam Oster on Vimeo.

Drift : Domestic Oblivion I from Sam Oster on Vimeo.

This is a time-lapse piece shot on a rail with a motor and controller, to add shifts in both time and space to the work. The Electric Still-Life reflects on our electrical lives, and the history of practical electricity - this formal arrangement of objects in a domestic setting intends to challenge the traditional still-life and reflect on the 'Vanitas' Dutch Still life tradition. The Vanitas works created a tension between the sensuous depiction of the subject and the moralist message - a reflection on transience, vanity and meaninglessness. I am interested in the retention of dysfunctional electric objects for their socio-historic value, and in the absurdity of a still life arrangement of them; also the playfulness of such a futile collection. The layering and shifting of sand over time explores a curious abandonment and highlights the dysfunction of the objects. It also alludes to a future archaeology. This work is very much 'in progress' with both my concepts and techniques - but despite this I am showing the work at the Noarlunga Arts Centre as part of the Shimmer photography Festival (Sept 2012).