Darius G Rodrigues
English artist, filmmaker and poet living and working in London
Milk
installation - television, two chairs, black cloth, video (18.15)
‘Milk’ is expanded cinema, dislocating the first scene of Tarantino’s ‘Inglourious Basterds’ to create an unnerving physical experience.
With similar intent to Pierre Bismuth’s rework of ‘The Jungle Book’, something that was intended to be understood by all has been made relatively incomprehensible. The installation and video manipulate the viewer’s focus to heighten their sensitivity to and change their perspective to replicate that of the Jewish families under the floorboards in the scene. To emphasise the labour and enduring tension of the character’s context, the bottom of the crate has been painstakingly coloured in black using pens and pencils.
The 18-minute scene’s dialogue has been replaced by a mix of the film’s French, German and Spanish language trailers. The installation subverts the importance of language and communication in the creation of immersive cinema and transcends the impact of atmosphere and tension. The only sounds kept from the scene aside from background noise are the family’s names when they are read.
The new dialogue mix is extremely loud whilst the original background noise is almost inaudible. This frustrates and forces the viewer to physically navigate the small space as they attempt to negotiate and settle in their new environment.
