Miranda Parkes

Hedge Southland (2006)

25 secSingle channel / Digital Video / Colour / Sound

Hedge Southland shows a rural field across which runs a dark hedge with a hole in the middle. Through the hole, and in the sky above, you can see a glowing orange sunset. The camera pans up and the exposure settings of the camera auto-adjust to reveal a resplendent sky, then pans down again, the sky returns to white, before the camera turns up again to reveal the beautiful sky.

Hedge Southland is shakily filmed, in the hand-held, serendipitous manner of many of Parkes’ video works. The work almost plays as a visual joke, a sleight of hand that reveals a resplendent sunset—the subject of innumerable landscape paintings—only to take it away again. The work also shows how what we see is mediated by our technologies; our phones can autofocus objects into and out of existence.

Other works by Miranda Parkes

CIRCUIT is the
leading voice
for artist moving image
practice
in Aotearoa New Zealand,
distributing works,
critical review and
dialogues
which reflect our unique, contemporary
South Pacific context.