The Predicament of Man | Irish Artist's Film Index

The Predicament of Man

Jesse Jones


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https://vimeo.com/168785911

Artist's biography

Jesse Jones

Synopsis

Using footage shot in an opal mine in Coober Pedy, Australia, intercut with over a thousand still images that appear momentarily on screen, Jones subliminally contrasts the desolate landscape with flashes of often recognisable 20/21st century icons and events. The Predicament of Man creates an uneasy and foreboding slippage in time that hints at an apocalyptic future. Its title is borrowed from an essay in Limits to Growth, by the economic think tank; The Club of Rome in 1972. The Predicament of Man examines the consequences of exponential growth theories of late capitalism and how they may not only over stretch our resources carrying capacities, but also our sensory capacity to perceive reality itself. The Predicament of Man is the second chapter in Jesse Jones' The Trilogy of Dust, a collection of three films (Mahogany (2009), The Predicament of Man (2010) and Against the Realm of the Absolute (2011)) made by the artist between 2009 and 2011. The Trilogy of Dust depicts a narrative arch that shifts from Brechtian alienation to the cognitive estrangement of science fiction. Each film is connected through a series of desert, dust and ash landscapes, from the desert of central Australia to a manufactured desert of post industrial detritus. Each of these stark landscapes forms an eerie stage to speculations on social and economic collapse and their repercussions for human existence.' (Sourced from http://www.hughlane.ie/past/632-sleepwalkers-jesse-jones-the-trilogy-of-dust on March 14th 2016)


Images

Details
Title

The Predicament of Man

Year

2010

Form

Short

Key phrases

landscape, science fiction, surrealist, coober pedy (s.a.), capitalism, perception

Language

None

Duration

00:03:00

Original formats

Physical: Film: 16mm

Aspect ratio

16.9

Colour

Colour

Sound

Yes

Supported by Kildare County Council Arts Service, the Arts Council of Ireland and Visual Artists Ireland.
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