LONDON TRIP: BILL VIOLA

During a trip to London I made sure I visited the Bill Viola "Martyrs" (2014) installation at St Paul's cathedral. Bill Viola is a world renowned and critically acclaimed installation artist and viewed and widely acknowledged as one of the leading artist currently working in the field.The piece is a Polyptych screened on four HD vertical plasma screens with each screen representing a character as a martyr undergoing martyrdom from one of the four elements earth, air, fire or water.

The work has no sound but over seven and a quarter mins shows the characters submitted to one of the elements. The footage in "earth" sees the male character consumed by a pile of earth pinned to the floor then gradually released/freed as the earth comes off in reversed footage. The female character in "air" sees her trussed up by her hands and feet increasingly buffeted by wind as she is helpless against it. "Fire" sees an seated elderly male character gradually consumed by fire falling from above until completely ablaze. Finally "water" sees a (Jesus inspired) character trussed by the feet lifted upside down by his feet into a reverse crucifix to undergo a torrent of water.

The piece is haunting, especially in the quiet surroundings of it's setting in St Paul's almost enhanced by the lack of sound which draws the full attention to the visuals. They are studio shot certainly with some SFX added in post production but (especially fire) but subtly done. The images are stark from the black (studio) location to the characters and their simple clothing and the miss-en-scene does not detract from the on screen activity. The lighting is all focussed on the characters and the elements they are doing battle with. The four screens interplay well building and climaxing at a similar time but the eye is always drawn to one screen more than the three others as the action in them changes. I loved the use of four screens and their interaction, the playing with the generally landscape nature to film and TV and the cinematic quality of the installation. It is incredibly powerful and thought provoking and Viola controls the audience with the pace and style. No edits or sound draw the audiences full attention to the potency of the image on screen that are very relatable to all. Moving forward with my own work the elements I am drawn to are the clarity of the message as well as the cinematic starkness. I do feel that I will need to embrace sound and possibly editing more though.

In spite of it's setting Martyrs speaks to a wider spirituality than the Catholicism of St Paul's and deals with themes of just what ideals and causes would you be prepared to defend and what sacrifices could and would you endure to defend these and to make you a martyr.

In the words of Bill Viola himself "The Greek word for martyr originally means "witness". In today's world, the mass media turns us all into witnesses to the suffering of others. the martyrs' past lives of action can help them illuminate our modern lives of inaction. They also exemplify the human capacity to bear pain, hardship and even death in order to remain faithful to their values, beliefs and principles. This piece represents the ideas of action, fortitude, perseverance, endurance and sacrifice".