Snap happy

BACKGROUND
Snap happy contributes to the broad field of video art and the narrow field of video works that use celluloid film to capture contemporary subject matter. The peer community includes Tacita Dean (UK) and Louisa Fairclough (UK). Key characteristics of this scholarly debate include the use of analogue technology for visual resonance and conceptual affect. This Creative Work seeks to extend the field by exploring the atmospheric qualities of film and photographic outcomes as simulacra. Although previously exhibited in 2010, new knowledge was facilitated through the curatorial premise of the exhibition (a selection of moving image artworks that feature the appearance of a camera) and the outdoor context for its presentation (rear projected through a gallery window at night).
CONTRIBUTION
This Creative work is framed by the following research question: How can a self-reflexive curatorial premise combined with a night-time screening further enhance the conceptual underpinnings of Snap happy? The curatorial premise highlighted the presence of the camera in Snap happy, both as image and image-maker. The night-time screening added to the atmospheric quality of the footage and a sense of dislocation within time and space. I am the sole author of this Creative work.
SIGNIFICANCE
The exhibition was curated by Catherine Connolly and featured video works by Leslie Eastman and Sam Smith. Counihan Gallery has been an important community gallery since 1999 and is funded by the Moreland City Council. The outdoor nature of this exhibition meant that both dedicated viewers and passers-by could see the work.