BACHELOR MACHINES PART 1
Picture This, Bristol and Chisenhale Gallery, London have commissioned and produced a new film by Rosalind Nashashibi set on a cargo ship sailing from Southern Italy to Sweden via Portugal, England and Ireland. Bachelor Machines Part 1 is currently being shown at the Scottish Pavilion at this year’s Venice Biennale.

In its singular exploration of life on board, Nashashibi’s film can be understood as a genre piece presenting a contemporary version of seafaring whose precedents lie in historical literature, painting and films. The work stems from the artist’s interest in these depictions of ocean life and voyages. Her influences range from the novel Mason & Dixon by Thomas Pynchon – charting the story of two Englishmen traveling to America in the 17th century to plot the state boundary line between Maryland and Pennsylvania – to Jean Vigo's luminous 1934 film, L'Atalante and Marcel Broodthaers’ A Voyage on the North Sea (1973).

Nashashibi sees the ship’s company as the ultimate closed community. Operating under a strictly adhered to hierarchy headed by the absolute authority of the ship’s master, the community’s off-shore condition gives it the semblance of a floating independent state. The film is divided into 25 scenes, a prologue and an end, to reflect a piece of unending theatre. A rhythm develops from the intensity and claustrophobia inside the ship, counterbalanced by the empty expanse of the ocean and extreme weather conditions. Three different modes of capturing the ship and its crew can be identified: a close and direct observation of the dynamics of individuals in a confined environment; a rich and dream-like rendering of the light and movement of the voyage; and a heavily characterised framing of the ship as animated machine and protagonist.

The installation of Bachelor Machines Part 1 also comprises a theatrical sculptural element; this is the result of a collaboration between Nashashibi and artist Enrico David.

Thank you to the Master and Crew on the Grimaldi vessel Gran Bretagna. The realisation of this work was made possible in part by the American Center Foundation and Grimaldi Line.

About Rosalind Nashashibi
Using primarily 16mm film, Rosalind Nashashibi is concerned with portraying the psychological atmosphere of locations and detecting subconscious projections. To do this she films scenes from reality, often filtered through the visual language of primitivism. Recent exhibitions include: 2007: Contour 3rd Video Biennial, Mechelen; Berkeley Art Museum, Berkeley; Scotland & Venice, 52nd Venice Biennale; Statements, Art Basel; Hreash House, Tate Britain, London; Chisenhale Gallery, London; Spike Island, Bristol; 2006: Harris Liebermann, New York; 2005: Counter Gallery, London; Dorrotya Gallery, Budapest; 2004: Kunsthalle, Basel.

Mark Aerial Waller: Midwatch
Nashashibi has invited Mark Aerial Waller to show Midwatch (1999-2001) alongside Bachelor Machines Part 1. Midwatch is set aboard a battleship recently returned from operation Mosaic; the first British nuclear bomb test in the south Atlantic. A mutineer from the tests and a time travelling caterer from Nelson’s fleet remain onboard. A battle of wills ensues between the two, as Nelson’s geographic progress to power is set against the nuclear bomb tests of the 1950’s; a collision between a barely remembered Imperial omnipotence and a barely understood technology of nuclear manipulation.

Picture This is an organisation with a unique understanding of moving image technology and contemporary art, producing visual art projects that engages a range of collaborators and audiences. Picture This’ new flexible space at Spike Island, Bristol is used for production, exhibition, education and events.