Wave Formations

William Raban is one of the most convincing and exciting artists to directly investigate the real properties of film; projection, the interaction of beams of light, the audience and sound. His films marry a dedicated intellectual rigour with great wit and are often some of the most challenging but also experientially rewarding of all expanded cinema works.

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Wave formations is a 5 screen work in which each screen runs through a series of fades and then stroboscopic flashes of colour, to create a series of visual harmonics in which image is printed directly over the optical soundtrack: what you see is what you hear.

Part One: Variation in Density

a) The picture on each of the five screens is identical, seven second fades from black, through clear, to back again. The same fade is printed onto the optical sound track to synchronise with the picture.

b) Then follow fades from light to dark.

c) And from dark to light.