NOT in NYC? Stream films on https://axwonline.com

AUGUST 2, 2017 — 6 PM with visiting filmmaker Jesse Russell Brooks

MERGE to INFINITY  curated by Lili White  TRT: 44 minutes

PLETTEN; Louise Harris; UK; 5.33
(please note: this video contains flashing images.)
pletten: squash, crush, flatten.
pletten is a dual screen audiovisual abstract work that is intended for playback on two opposite walls of a dark, square space but can also be exhibited side by side, as in this version. The work is an exploration of simultaneous compositional process and the development of complementary sonic and visual forms on a micro- and macro-structural level. Ideally, the two screens should be displayed opposite one another, with the audience situated in the centre of the two, allowing them to engage with the sonic and visual structures being formed in a variety of ways, both within the work itself and in the way the work behaves in a confined space..

IN RUINS, WE REBUILD WITH MEMORIES BURIED IN THE FOUNDATION; Lana Z Caplan; USA; 10.30
Streams of people with holes burned in them rise from subway stairs and escalators in London, Paris, Beijing and New York and collide with images from nature – migration, destructive forces and chaos – in a meditation on loss.
Shot on super8 film, the footage was transferred to 16mm on the optical printer and selectively burned with a soldering iron, melting holes in the film. Edited and scored digitally, “In ruins…” is presented here as a single-channel video, with two images side by side.

THE DOVES; Ariane Loze; BRUSSELS; 14.17
The Doves is cinematographic essay, a reflection about the mediated news and the fears arising from it. Three characters performed by the same actress are discussing their reactions on recent dramatic events — Paris terrorist attacks — interestingly, it was made just at the same time that one in Brussels was happening.

MORE DANGEROUS THAN A THOUSAND RIOTERS; Kelly Gallagher; USA; 6.19
An experimental animated documentary exploring the powerful and inspiring life of revolutionary Lucy Parsons. This film illustrates her dedicated life to struggle, and her important, countless contributions fighting endlessly against capitalism, racism, and sexism.

MAKE ME A DOORWAY; Jesse Russell Brooks; USA; 3.36
featuring poets: Erika Ewing; Alexzenia Davis; Laila Petrone
Poet Alexzenia Davis explores perspective and intimacy during a rush of mixed media footage that visualizes the characteristics of time. The short film titled “Make me a Doorway” is an experimental collaboration with filmmaker Jesse Russell Brooks These three perspectives represented by the voice of one woman investigates the memory of a love lost, and how these reflections mysteriously transform us; while unerringly depicting the courage required to navigate a volatile gender gap.

TRIPTIC EXIT TO; Rrose Present; SPAIN; 3.31
EXIT to nonwhere EXIT to anywhere EXIT to everywhere
(Sound and image from a single shot of my washing machine 2015-2017)
We all need to clean up the ghosts of the present, past or future and sometimes our only option is with the domestic ritual of cleaning our clothes.
Here this daily act becomes an abstract aesthetic-hypnotic experience with the noise of thoughts which perform a catharsis that cleanses the spirit and body of the “noise” of reason … fears …