观火 Flame Gazing

Flame Gazing re-composes scenes from two funerals held by a big family in Taipei, based on the home videos recorded in 1993 and 2001. The re-editing principle of the film threads together clues to the passage of time: the elder who had attended the funeral of the young lady passed away eight years later. In re-working the video footage into hand-processed 16mm film, I searched for both the affective loads and documentary evidences in these images. With both accidental and non-accidental solarization, the accumulation of materials grows to be tantamount to a time-traveling experience through the local rituals, gestures, faces, and remembrance of family members. Such process of rediscovery offers something to contemplate upon, or to “guan huo” (Taiwanese Mandarin), literally staring at the fire.