carne vale

artist statement/
description

While the origin of the term ‘carnival’ is believed to be Italian, the original meaning is disputed. Based on folk etymology, one interpretation of the late latin term ‘carne vale’ is ‘a farewell to the flesh’ – suggesting a release of the everyday self to embrace the spirit of the occasion. From the Caribbean carnivals of my parents’ origins, to the amusement park carnivals of an urban Canadian upbringing, many incarnations surrounded me, each with a distinct character, yet similar in the emotions they evoked. Softly fractured memories have melded, becoming layered and abstracted, differing customs and aesthetics are ambiguous, their origins unclear. Layered and abstract has begun to characterize my own personal origins, with fragments of influences never rooted in reality, my childhood feels like a tapestry of interwoven occasions, embraced and never fully understood. The experimental video of carnival and circus impressions fuses elements of mixed media, painting and video. The imagery is layered and abstracted as if looking at a carnival though the wings of a dragonfly.

details
Medium: videoart
Duration: 00:02:25
Created: 2010

Subject Matter: diasporas, identity construction

Aspect ratio: 4:3
Digital file type: .mov
Recording format: SD
Sound: Yes
Colour/ B&W: Colour
Language: -
Subtitles: No
Close Captioning: No

CREDITS
Camera & audio: J. Ramlochan
Visual & sound editor: J. Ramlochan
Production Location: Toronto, Canada
Images
Click the top (or left) animated image to access the image gallery.