Of oil and origin | Irish Artist's Film Index

Of oil and origin

Caroline Doolin


Artist's biography

Caroline Doolin

Synopsis

'Of oil and origin is a narrated, digital video exploring the mediation of key geographical components and processes in petroleum formation and exploration. Unfolding over three chapters, the work adopts the format of a literary quest narrative wherein a 'space of oil' is journeyed towards from multiple perspectives. Whilst a quest narrative typically designates a location as the backdrop for the physical and psychological experiences of its characters, this work foregrounds the space itself, imagining its own experiences of time, formation, degradation and its on-going transformation through human retelling. Of oil and origin charts a journey from the Earth's subsurface, to surface and thenceforth to planetary and virtual realms. These spaces are relayed through several mediating forms - from primordial utterance, to geological classification and digital visualisation. The footage includes an open-rock borehole, core samples at the British Geological Survey, chalk cliffs in Dorset, and a 3D model of Saturn's moon Titan, which is thought to produce oil-bearing hydrocarbons by non-biological means. The soundtrack combines voiceover, sonar signals, the glugging voice of the oil, and ambient excerpts.'

(Sourced from private vimeo link on September 16th 2016)


Images

Details
Title

Of oil and origin

Year

2015

Form

Short

Key phrases

text, science fiction, petroleum, geological time

Language

English

Duration

00:19:00

Original formats

16:9

Aspect ratio

16:9

Colour

Colour

Sound

Yes

Supported by Kildare County Council Arts Service, the Arts Council of Ireland and Visual Artists Ireland.
© 2016 - 2024 Irish Artist's Film Index. All rights reserved.