Sunrise, sunset.

Before the Sun

Karthik Pandian

2010

Medium: 16mm film projectors housed in twin mirror pane glass towers, erupting from the surface of the sandy plaza.

External Information: Karthik Pandian lives and works in L.A., California. This installation was filmed in East Saint Louis, Illinois during an archeological dig at the Cahokia Mounds.

When I walked into the Midway Contemporary Art Center last Tuesday, my first thought was, "Really?"

Why is it so dark in here? I couldn't see anything, and I was chilled from the inside out. I could only hear the noise. I was so confused. What is this noise that was blasting through this art gallery? I did not have time to figure it out, because it was at this point that I stumbled into the plaza. I touched it, and it felt cold, damp, and sandy. Weird? As I was trying to get off the plaza, my eyes finally adjusted to the darkness. I could see two projections cast on opposite walls of this huge room. Just as I was starting to warm up and focus on what was in front of me, chills ran down my spine. It was like bugs running out from under an old rug, and it was really eerie. As I said, two videos were being projected into the corners of this huge room, but now I could really see what was going on. On the east wall, the sun was shown in various stages throughout the morning, rising. On the west wall, the sun was setting. In both video projections, people and animals walked along the path, not noticing the camera. Everyone seemed to be in a hurry. Running, talking on cell phones. Flashes of red and blue disrupted the sunrise projections, and green on the sunset projections. I was strangely drawn to the sunset... and I still can't figure out why.

If you go to the Midway to see this installation (and I suggest you do if you have not already), maybe you can figure it out for me, or just figure it out for yourself.

www.midwayart.org