The Fairs

Digital Video The Fairs was selected for THE SWEDENBORG FILM FESTIVAL curated by Gareth Evans; Film Curator at the Whitechapel Gallery, and Nora Foster; Communications Manager, Frieze and formerly Assistant Curator, The Swedenborg Society. The thirteen selected works were screened at Swedenborg Hall, Bloomsbury Way, London and judged by Filmmaker Andrew Kotting. Filmed from the quiet edges of a city centre car park The Fairs presents a dual-screen work of two fairground rides appearing and then disappearing behind old industrial buildings and the John Lewis department store. As the arm of the fairground ride appears we hear screaming which disappears when the arm of the ride is out of sight. At first this is amusing but as the screams intensify, and the passengers are subjected to an eternal flight, the work begins to feel uncomfortable. The film evokes questions of escape, control, voyeurism, immersion and complicity. In the context of the European refugee crisis the work evokes more sinister readings.