A child dies, a child plays, a woman is born, a woman dies, a bird arrives, a bird flies off (Animistic Apparatus edition)

A child dies, a child plays, a woman is born, a woman dies, a bird arrives, a bird flies off (Animistic Apparatus edition) from shireen seno on Vimeo.

I have recently been working on a series of studies of the migration of birds in and out of the Philippines, a kindred project to a feature-length film I'm writing called "The Wild Duck", inspired by memories of my father’s migration to the United States in the early 2000s.

The project aims to deal with migration in many forms and times. Birds, and ducks in particular, are like role models for humans—they find ways to survive by various means across varied terrain. I hope to bring together a mix of local birds and migratory ones, migrating across different generations of moving image media.

The work first took the form of an installation put together for the 2018 Thirteen Artists Awards exhibition at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. "A child dies, a child plays, a woman is born, a woman dies, a bird arrives, a bird flies off" consisted of six monitors of various sizes and generations (15-inch CRT tv, 30-inch CRT tv, 22-inch CRT pc monitor, 20-inch flatscreen pc monitor, 26-inch flatscreen LCD tv, 32-inch flatscreen LCD tv), a barebones pc unit, audio speakers, and a video played in Resolume software normally used for VJ-ing.

The project is still ongoing as I hope to explore the qualities particular to film, in addition to video. I hope rediscover the process of working with my hands through the minutiae of film and its corresponding gargantuan when projected. I hope to use both fresh and expired film of various formats (Super 8, 16mm, 35mm) to experiment with both in terms of film processing and direct manipulation of processed filmic material, as well as in the projection of the film. I also hope to further explore the sculptural properties of both film loops and projections.

The most recent iteration of the work is an outdoor screening-performance as part of the incredible Animistic Apparatus lab this past 23-26 April 2019 in Udon Thani, Thailand dedicated to spirits both human and non-human.

A child dies, a child plays, a woman is born, a woman dies, a bird arrives, a bird flies off (Animistic Apparatus edition)
Performance by Shireen Seno, Arnont Nongyao, and the technician team of ธนวัฒน์ ภาพยนตร์ ช่างเกษม
Super 8 processing by Jippy Pascua
Video to film transfer by Jippy Pascua and Gym Lumbera
Video documentation by Sompot Chidgasornpongse

Special thanks:
Mervine Aquino, Carmela Española, Dennese Victoria, Joee Mejias, Jippy Pascua, Irene Dy, Jelaine Gan, Alice Sarmiento, Javier Ortega, Alvin Francisco, Carl Chavez, Lesley-Anne Cao, Joanne Cesario, John Torres, Christian Tablazon

Part of Animistic Apparatus, 23-26 April 2019, Udon Thani, Thailand led by May Adadol Ingawanij. Thank you to everyone behind it: Julian Ross, Mary Pansanga, Tanatchai Bandasak, Panachai Chaijirarat, Punyisa Silparassamee, Kasem Khamnak and team ธนวัฒน์ ภาพยนตร์ ช่างเกษม and all the participants

Details:
http://mayadadol.info/index.php/project/animistic-apparatus/

Itinerant Cinematic Practices In and Around Thailand during the Cold War:
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/690543?fbclid=IwAR3xNbPTaxtBz0GMQ9fH7HlMuYYlt8fgTUWk_K5Toqo3ezg20uY0Tgnnxho

Kasem Khamnak:
https://www.caboosebooks.net/node/106?fbclid=IwAR2-qZCLHejDIfuwtl-Q-sbPpP7p3rSGAPGKFKJfdZ3W2NkmWVc6_7w5MMM