Spat, 2010

Single channel video, aspect ratio 16:9, 8 min 9 sec,16mm film transferred to HD, stereo sound

Spat (2010), focuses on an argument, taking place on a train platform between an elderly couple. The couple seems completely absorbed in their exchange, their gestures and facial expressions full of the passion of their respective points of view.

As the camera approaches, gradually and hesitantly, it becomes increasingly quiet - and eventually apparent that the spat is carried out in sign language. Only by focusing on each other can the argument be articulated.

Spat forms part of a trilogy of 16mm films – along with Kiss and Fight - each of which focuses on one gestures that occurs between two people in a public environment. Each of the films is based on a real life observation and is reconstructed within real life, consciously playing on the ambiguity between a documentary mode and a staged scenario.