Surabhi Saraf

PEEL video installation, US, 2009

Peel is a multi-channel audio-visual installation, it presents a visual echo of the present instance: it takes an unexamined moment and gives it life. The transitional motion of going to the fridge to get an ingredient is stretched into the echo of an unforgettable instant, and what emerges is an examination of the subtlety and hidden beauty of that moment. The mass repetition of small videos magnifies subtle nuances while blurring the whole ensemble into a mass of activity. For instance, the elementariness of simple gestures of a seemingly mundane daily activity (such as those of stirring, or putting hair behind the ear) get morphed into a complex choreography when multiplied. The effect of this process is mirrored in the dense and rich textured sound that emerges from the layering of the audio from the individual videos.