Surveillance and ‘Dowsing Rods’
‘Dowsing Rods and experimental footage’ is the video record of my first-person perspective whilst holding Dowsing rods and using my phone simultaneously, as well as a compilation of experimental shots I have made on the Camberwell College Campus. This footage was edited together and presents a result of two workshops that were run by Dr Eleanor Dare for Computational Arts pathway students of the Camberwell Fine Art MA. The first of these workshops is expanded upon in the Context section of this website. This film experiments with different forms of recording perspective, from a surveying view on an upper floor to the parking area outside, to my own reflection in a window, to my use of the Dowsing rods. While I felt there were restrictions when it comes to what might be allowed to be filmed on campus, I still felt this was an interesting challenge and that the different perspectives each offered individual narratives. One of these potential narratives is expanded upon in the next artwork titled ‘Dowsing Rods’.
‘Dowsing Rods’ is a digital photographic record of my first-person perspective whilst holding Dowsing rods and using my phone simultaneously. This work was part of an investigation into the concept and meaning of an ‘image’. As I travelled around the Camberwell College campus with the rods, I began to think of the action as a performative action. After an interaction with another student, I wrote down our conversation and matched this with photographs of myself holding the rods: two where I am reflected in a window, and one from a first-person point-of-view. I posted these records originally onto the miro.com platform before screenshooting the record, resulting in this image on this website.
The image of my reflection coupled with the transcribed dialogue suggests a snapshot of a narrative to me and to others who have seen the work. There’s an aspect of absurd humour within the narrative of the work; I act as the bewildered and unwitting holder of the long, looming, antenna-like dowsing rods, whilst a bystander has to inform me that he doesn’t ‘think they work’. The interaction presents an awkward scene; a break in ordinary daily interaction that’s marked with passing confusion. The confusion and bewilderment of the two characters within the dialogue also presents their humanity. The naivety of myself, or rather, my character in not knowing what the rods are is coupled with her faith in the ‘self fulfilling prophecy’, which this lends a measure of charm to the narrative. Despite the lad not believing in the rods, the rods still seem to fulfil their task, offering a suggestion of hope.
I feel this dialogue is more successful than the images in capturing the essence of the moment, action, and a wider story. I have begun to think of the images as more illustrative to the text as opposed to being artworks in themselves.
