Ambassador

2005
Skaer, Lucy
'Ambassador' is the first collaborative film by Rosalind Nashashibi and Lucy Skaer. While Nashashibi is celebrated for her quiet, contemplative films observing life in small societal groups, Skaer is better known for her large-scale drawings which overlay detailed observations of images sourced from the media with artefacts and objects. Coming together the two artists have created a film portrait of the British Consul General to Hong Kong in his residence on Hong Kong Island. Two monitors, one above the other, display small scenes of the Consul’s day as he moves about the house – drinking tea on the balcony, writing letters at his desk – interspersed with prolonged gazes at the luxurious interior, or details such as his impeccably polished shoes underneath the desk. Nashashibi and Skaer play subtle formal tricks, switching the orientation of images playing on the lower monitor, so that at times it appears to mirror its counterpart. As the artists explain, the film’s dual display creates a multi-layered and exotic portrait of a man who is 'a go-between of two cultural worlds: Hong Kong and the British overseas. Like a shaman, he offers access to another reality. Stephen Bradley is an individual man, but his individuality is sublimated to his post.' Marianne Mulvey
  • Artwork Details: running time: 5 minutes 30seconds
  • Edition: 1 0f 3 + 2 APs
  • Material description: 16mm film [transferred to DVD]
  • Credit line: © The artist and Sinibad Films ltd. Part funded by Tramway, Glasgow and the Lyon Biennale.
  • Theme:
  • Medium: Film and Audio Visual
  • Accession number: ACC23/2006

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