For the duration of March, San Mei Gallery is pleased to present a weekly programme of online screenings of artists films, including works by Ahaad Alamoudi and Menga Da, Hollie Miller, Tamu Nkiwane and Sanjana Chandrasekhar.

Screening Programme

We the Living a magical realist film performed and shot by Hollie Miller with music composed by Craig Scott. Conceptualised and shot during her residency at NAIRS Contemporary Art Center in Switzerland, where it was also presented as a live performance/ installation. Set in a former bath house and mineral water distillery, Hollie Miller is accompanied only by her sculptures. She uses found and altered organic materials to reimagine her anatomy through an animalistic framework. This surrealist film explores metamorphosis, annihilation and rebirth in reference to iconic paintings, sculptures and performance art actions."

In July 2020, we hosted Hollie Miller’s performance Sonic Archetypes in collaboration with Craig Scott. Read more about this work and Hollie Miller’s practice in our conversation with San Mei Associate Curator, Ludovica Bulciolu here.

Hengli (2020) is a collaboration between artist Ahaad Alamoudi and artist/curator Mengna Da. The video discusses notions of translation and preservation: how messages form and reform as they are passed down from generation to generation through different objects, subjects and environments. 

Shot in front of Brooklyn’s Immigration Office, the video imagines a future where human beings invent Hengli, a universal language agent that can be understood by anyone. Where all languages – English, Arabic, Chinese, etc. – are banned by the governments to ensure total transparency in their citizens’ communication. Yet, when the duo lose their ability to speak in Hengli, they have to explore communication and memory-building through different means. The video highlights the struggles, friction and tension that occur when information is morphed through translated dialogues and movements.

Credits:
Directors: Ahaad Alamoudi, Mengna Da
Cinematography: Xin Fang, Abdullah Alamoudi

Apocrypha (2019) depicts a conversation about heritage and spiritualism with a Sangoma (South African spiritualist) who lives and works in a barber shop in Walthamstow. The collage of ‘The lamentation of a goblin’ with photography, text and 3D scanned images create a movement through time and space. Elements of heritage, spirituality, intra-action and movement are illustrated as the mundane activity ensues. But in tone of voice and pause of question you find something else.

Commissioned by New Creatives (Arts Council England and BBC Arts)

Credits:
A film by Tamu Nkiwane
Edited by Jhenelle White
Cinematography by Linden Nieto
Music by Tamu Nkiwane and Karin Grönkvist

A family of four attempt to uncover sensitive issues about each other, through solving a cryptic crossword puzzle. The film is a reflection of how this anger of trying to be heard starts from home, and continues to have a resounding effect in the political world. In this film, Sanjana Chandrasekhar uses animated documentary as a form of ‘re-enactment’, allowing her subjects to participate and engage with the filmmaking process. Exploring intergenerational relationships, social change, queer culture, identity politics, and the social stigmas that prevail in modern Indian society, The Dog with Wings (7) results in an unusual but intriguing relationship between maker and subject, as the characters in the film eventually became collaborators.

Credits:
Director & Animator: Sanjana Chandrasekhar
Music, Sound Design & Sound Mix: Dominika Latusek
Animation Assistant: Magda Kreps, Lucie Levrangi, Lewis Heriz
Colouring Assistant: Gabriella Marsh