Clair de Lune, Ocean’s Variation
Multi-channel video installation with audio, 2019
Video still of the installation
Clair de Lune, Ocean’s Variation is a speculative artwork that imagines the solitude of a spot of ocean somewhere in the world as it experiences itself in relationship to the moon. This piece is about reckoning with a place’s ongoing existence, whether you are there to witness it or not.
The piece was made by digitally passing the motion of ocean currents through the pitch and tempo of a recording of Claude Debussy’s Clair de Lune, a composition which, for me, captures the experience of being utterly alone with oneself, with perhaps only the light of the moon as company or witness.
I made this piece with the help of composer Daniel Bayot, and underwater videographer, Mike Nelson.