Untitled (Burning Super-8 Loop)

Mark Pickles

Burning Super-8 Loop: The film used is more combustible than fully developed Super-8 as the silver nitrate layer is still present, and a number of small perforations have been made to accelerate burning. The film is forced backwards against the projector mechanism by hand. The image is hesitant at first, then, as the film loops, these elements are repeated and modified a number of times as the limitations and possibilities of the method are learned. By the end of the experiment the image contains a visual tension, created by the physicality of the technique (as the projector struggles against the film sprockets being drawn backwards) which is representative of the act of learning. The film might also be described as a record of its own production.