Encounter an acclaimed moving-image sculptural installation by Wellington-based artist Joanna Langford at the Film Archive Auckland in October and November.  

Typical of Langford’s sculptural installations, in Baltic Wanderer a delicate word is held in balance. Fragile ecosystems that may be human support structures are sustained by mysterious power supplies, and the whole enigmatic scene fades in and out of swirling mists.
 
Langford’s knack with simple materials and penchant for magical realism lets the viewer into a contemplative space where our human impact in the environment is called into question, and yet all the while we are entertained and engaged with her dystopian vision.
 
Baltic Wanderer was inspired by the artist’s residency in Iceland and made during her time as the Frances Hodgkins fellow in 2010 in Dunedin. The Film Archive Auckland is proud to present Langford’s stunning and thought-provoking work for the first time in Auckland.
 
“New work Baltic Wanderer is one of the best in the show … The darkened gallery space itself feels enveloped by shadows and fog (helped by a soft sonorous soundscape by Mark Williams). The power lines lead us to a grey seascape upon whose horizon line a landform of grubby icy tiers sits above the sea on long stilts. Slowly merging and then disappearing creepily in the fog, it is like some abstract mirage premonition of a cold cruel city of the future on a volcanic remnant, after the life of the land has been drained away.” - Mark Amery – “Teetering Towers” Dominion Post, 9 June 2011
 

Digital animation, LED lights, electrical wire
Sound by Mark Williams
Made during her time as the Frances Hodgkins fellow in 2010