On Light: Water: Air is a moving image work by Susie Olczak released as a part of Fire, Earth, Air, Water.
On Light: Water: Air is a part of an ongoing body of work which considers the relationship between the elements, the spaces we move through and human well-being. It was originally made for the Aerocene workshop at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris and composed of footage filmed about the consideration of light and the effects it can have in urban spaces.
Footage taken from materials in the studio and from interiors of buildings represent these lights and signals as they call for us to stop and reflect on the details we see and to take notice of the world around us. Like in Saraceno’s work, geometry and repetition are important, as are transparency and layers of light that moves around the space.
The next elemental aspect of the footage is water taken in Venice in the summer. Water floods into the room, it is turbulent and hard to control. This reflects climate change and the dangers that we face in relation to water, in particular within urban spaces where a large percentage of the population lives. The abstract narrative ends with calmer waters, suggesting that there is hope in controlling the climate. The hope is that as with the light, this creates a full circle that we can go back to a more hopeful future.
