Tibetan Book of the Dead (Chapters 1, 2, 3) by James Clar

Videos

Beyond the Uncanny Valley (2018) Discussing reality and dreams from the perspective of some of Japan's top professional videogamers. Each person was placed into a fictional movie setting yet told to speak from their own experiences.

Aokigahara/Sea of Trees (2018) A video recorded at Aokigahara, aka Suicide Forest or Jukai "the Sea of Trees". It is a dense forest in Japan near Mount Fuji that has been historically a place where people have decided to end their lives. They go there and meditate, sometimes for weeks, and contemplate a post-physical existence. So the forest is an in-between space between the real (physical) and spiritual (non-physical). I brought a colleague there to hike into the forest and record a video. I recorded various shots of him walking around while wearing an orange suit. The full body suit was used so that later he can be erased, frame by frame, from the video using Photoshop's Content Aware feature that tries to fill in deleted areas of an image using the software algorithms. The Photoshop filter doesn't work perfect and each frame is analyzed individually, but actually this creates an odd effect of a specter or ghost roaming around in the video. The work technically alludes to "Erased DeKooning Drawing" and references our own digital 'ghosting' as we transfer more of ourselves online.

James Clar
Tibetan Book of the Dead (Chapters 1, 2, 3), 2018
Multi-Channel Synced Video Installation, Plants, Metal, Acrylic. Unique installation.
490 x 245 cm (192.91 x 96.46 in)

An installation that combines a physical-digital network of metal, plants, and electrical wires. On one side of the installation is a large television that shows the digitally erased person / ghost (Aokigahara / The Sea of Trees, 2018) walking through Jukai in a seamless loop. On the other side is a network of televisions showing the videogamer interviews as sync’d multi-channel (Beyond the Uncanny Valley, 2018). In the middle is a small pond that reflects and distorts the projected video onto a transparent screen, making the image float in front of the trees.

The central installation of “The World Never Ends” exhibition, Tibetan Book of the Dead (Chapters 1, 2, 3), links together individual elements to create a structural narrative. Through multiple screens on one end of the installation the videogamers can be heard (and read through subtitles) talking about the mental effects of functioning through computer systems. On the other side of the installation the ghost footage can be seen on a large screen, acting as a visualization of the mental state and non-physical presence that the gamers inhabit.

The reflection pond in the middle distorts the gamer interviews and creates a floating image on the transparent screen. The wavy visual effect, fragmented displays, and omnipresent sound of the gamers speaking suggests that the hybrid forest network is dreaming of the videogamers.

Unique installation - Available (Jane Lombard Gallery)

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Exhibited:
"The World Never Ends", solo exhibit, Jane Lombard, New York, 2018

Collections: "The World Never Ends", Jane Lombard, New York, 2018

Other Work From James Clar

Aokigahara / The Sea of Trees by James Clar

Jeffrey Pine, Yosemite National Park / Jukai, Mount Fuji by James Clar

Tokyo near Aoyama Kumano Shrine by James Clar

Time Compression (A Light at the End. A Light at the Beginning.) by James Clar

See all artwork from James Clar