LAETOLI SERIES:
For as long as I can remember, I dreamed about having a movie from long ago. I imagined what public life looked like, tried to imagine the gaps of ordinary detail in the history books.
I learned about a set of footprints that exist today on the earth surface in Tanzania. They were made after a group of ancient hominins walked across the ground one day, three and a half million years ago. Preserved by chance after a layer of volcanic ash coated their tracks, the prints are a tantalizing sensory link to these anonymous individuals who remain so temporally distant from us. By instinct or ignorance, they are relatable. They are credible, yet incredible.
The archaeological site at Laetoli which serves as palpable record of the past and testament to the mysterious quality of the ordinary supplies the name of the Laetoli series images.
The films are sometimes silent, sometimes accompanied by sound. The soundscapes are derived from field recordings from geographic and temporal elsewheres.