These dark spaces in Camposcuro, shown in a stream of television sets not unlike a closed-circuit TV system, are populated by a single traveler. The only story that emerges through the screens is of a person moving through space, occasionally stopping for a moment before pursuing the horizon. In some screens they never move and are wholly absent from the hillsides of others. The world sits in a dreamlike abandonment, with elements, such as a bike, recurring just enough to encourage the inference of occluded events.

Following this single character through each scene, there is a sense of movement, but the faceless repetition interspersed with empty spaces infers a general tale of persistent human travel, a continuous cycle that never begins or ends.

The presentation implies a threat to this cycle: shown across many screens, evoking surveillance, and shot in low contrast black-and-white, evoking nightfall. It encourages participation in the watching of the traveler, through the panopticon-like presentation of their world, but without the necessary information, it is impossible to stitch together sure meaning. It is as if the traveler moves simply because they must. And yet now, the reaction to the movement of humans becomes a mystery to be followed, understood, solved.

The striped clothing and side bag echoes previous work, linking this naturalistic piece with more expressionist ones. That connection allows in consideration of migration and our contemporary response to border crossing — a connection that makes the “dark fields” of Camposcuroall the darker still.

This video installation was shot in the countrysides of Germany and Switzerland, first shown at the 2018 Florida Biennial, Art and Culture Center of Hollywood, Hollywood, Florida, and later included in the Miami New Media Festival 2019 exhibition at Laundromat Art Space, Miami, FL.

The 2018 Florida Biennial was curated by Laura Marsh and juried by Sarah Fritchey