To The Power of 1 was a picnic recorded on the 11th November 2009. It took place in the precise spot featured in Charles and Ray Eames’ Powers of 10 film, made in 1977 (see below)

The video and performance of To The Power of 1 is an exorcism of these comparisons made by the Eames film. To understand our world we need to mediate everything we witness through references and metaphors. This turns everything into a signpost that points to somewhere else. Every thing is in terms of another thing.

This work is a meditation on comparisons. Holding the camera at 1 meter away from the action of the picnic, this time we resist the urge to dive in to detail or to zoom out, to grasp at a greater context and a deeper, fuller story. The camera honours the scene and accepts its contents as legitimate, requiring no backdrop or back-story.

Connecting things does not always tell a truer story, it merely reassures us when we can see them as a part of a pattern.

To The Power of 1 was supported with the kind help of Sarah Weis and her team in Chicago. These were part of the somethingnew 2009 show that took place in and around the city on the 11th November.

See my other somethingnew work: Chicago Teleporter