Film as Fabric

Film as Fabric shows analogue film as fabric and stitching as editing. It is informed by the process of making a garment: 16mm film is cut with dressmaking scissors; stitched; spliced into loops; projected; measured; and worn on the body. Amongst the mechanical noise of a sewing machine and multiple film projectors, fabric and stitch patterns transform into moving images and optical sound[1]. The performance summons absent voices, obsolete industries and Stark's personal history. Film as Fabric took Annabel Nicolson’s Reel Time as a point of departure and aimed to recognise women’s labour, in particular their work in the cutting rooms of early cinema.

[1] Optical sound involves areas of light and dark in the soundtrack area of the filmstrip transforming into sound when film is projected. The soundtrack area runs the length of the filmstrip next to the frames, along the edge that does not have sprocket holes.