Nitrates

from Deep Leads by The Orbweavers

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Subjects: archives, film preservation, contemplation, decay, tropes, lost dreams

Sometimes I find myself in a museum cool store surrounded by canisters of archival films. For the brief moments I am in this strange environment, I often think about the history and power of cinema. I remember watching Hollywood midday movies on television through the 80s as a child, internalising the narrative structures and happy resolutions, absorbing the moving images as truth. Unravelling and analysing this early emotional imprinting is an ongoing process for me.

The materiality of early film is hazardous and compelling. Cellulose nitrate and cellulose acetate films degrade if not stored under preservation conditions, giving off particular smells caused by the off gassing of volatile compounds in the film itself. Acetate films give off a vinegar smell. Nitrate films have a more chemical smell, and can self combust under hot conditions. Storing these formats at a low temperature, in a cool store, helps slow the rate of decay and reduce the risk of combustion.

lyrics

In the cool store
I wait,
Alone with the nitrates.
Vinegar -
A telltale
Imprints
Life projected.

Cannister Confines
First print - a modern life.
Volatile
Hot light
Unspooling hopes protected.

Mind full of sounds.
Cinema - shaping the dreamers.
Together or alone,
In the darkness
I used to believe in other things.

credits

from Deep Leads, released September 17, 2017

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The Orbweavers Melbourne, Australia

The Orbweavers are Marita Dyson & Stuart Flanagan, multidisciplinary artists working in song, performance and visual art. Their work responds to history, memory and place. They are interested in local waterways, industrial history and environmental change.

They have written and recorded 3 albums, co-produced by their greyhound companions, Fern (RIP 2018) & Susie, released through Mistletone. ... more

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