Kor Smeenge Materializer Industries - First photogram

First photogram

• Day 1: Pinhole camera

  2005

  We are all set at 22:00. Temperature: -7.0 C. People outside our new quarters will lock us in. My mind wanders off to the Biosphere Project. We leave, in a way, our normality behind and launch ourselves into an unpredicteable series of events. The blackness makes the space intangible.

  

• Pinhole

  2005

  The pinhole in the ceiling of the tent is made in a piece of aluminum and is covered with a piece of unexposed, developed film. The film filters the light because colour paper is calibrated to be exposed through a negative. We expect that the pinhole will project an image of the tree branches it is placed under.

  

• Our view

  2005

  Lying on our backs facing our mini sun. The light it projects is hardly enough to be noticed. It causes a slight headache as our eyes can't handle the lack of light together with the urge to focus. When we look closely at the floor, we can see the tree branches overhead. They wave slightly. Shake lightly.

  

• Embarkment

  2005

  Jan just sealed us in. Outside, all hell freezes over. A minor hum from a little heater outside promises to make it possible to stay in here.

  

• Major Tom

  2005

  In the few seconds that have past since we entered the pinhole tent, Ziggy Stardust has been playing in my imagination. 'This is Major Tom to Ground Control I`m stepping through the door And I`m floating in a most peculiar way And the stars look very different today'.

  

• Just a few seconds..

  2005

  There is a sudden pff sound outside and an odd smell warning us explodes. The whole tent starts to fill with thick black smoke. Materializer does all he can to find the exit and rips it open. The heater is in flames and is still forcing smoke into the tent with Emi in it. The content of the bottle of wine we would drink to toast the start of this project finds it way to the flames...

  

• The remains

  2005

  This is the light-tight box we constructed to fit over the heater. A pipe extended out the front that connected to the tent. We thought that the heater wouldn't overheat outside. Obviously not. The second-hand heater didn't have an automatic shut-off when the temperature got too hot.

  

• Day 2: New heater

  2005

  He bikes to the city center first thing to find us a new heater. This time sitting inside the tent, it is free-standing in front of the ventilation inlet to get enough air. This little guy gives us 2000 watts of power and we trust it'll go the distance.

  

• Ventilation outlet

  2005

  We add a ventilation outlet of flexible aluminium piping extending from the back of the tent to allow air to circulate within. The piping is twisted in several s-curves to make it light-tight, but the silver surface still reflects light. Problem is solved with a coat of black paint inside.

  

• Materializer enters the camera at -6.0 C

  2005

  Last look at her face. We entered successfully into our new environment. Sealed off the outside and checked the status of the skin between coldness outside and damp-darkness inside. No leaks, we are in. But the experience would start with a more than healthy dose of paranoia. Keeping a close eye on my breath has become like constantly looking over my shoulder.

  

• Emi goes in

  2005

  We promise each other not to sleep for the first six hours to gauge our condition. We lean our backs against each other and find ourselves slowly rocking from side to side. The motion increases our psycological presence. I can feel the bass in his voice through my back. A new way of hearing. In this solitary confinement there is a quiet that makes me want to remain still.

  

• We slow down

  2005

  A feeling of hibernation. Hands rest on the paper. See the fingerprints that mark our place. Rachel calls out to us that it is 11:30pm. She wishes us a good night. The evening passed quickly. Now we huddle closer to the heater.

  

• I want to give in

  2005

  My eyes want to stay open - I want them to close. Each time I nod off, an adrenaline rush follows. Why do I lose consciousness? Will I sleep? It's been several hours now, but sleep won't come. The chill has seeped inside our tent. It will not be until morning's warmth that we'll get rest.

  

• Shadow heater

  2005

  At first, I am drawn to the outside being brought in. I lean towards the ventilation hole to smell the fresh air. I check the light of the pinhole as day moves to night. But as darkness settles and cold creeps closer, we shuffle to the heater and warm our hands and our backs.

  

• All is seen

  2005

  The first few cars pass in this early hour. Birds. I do not have energy to check the light of the pinhole. What time is it? I smell the air coming in. It has the pale bluenss of morning.

  

• First photogram

  2005

  The 22 hour exposure contains a contrast that is able to reveal movement in time/space of our bodies. The photopaper records the opposite colour and the red is a reaction to the blueness of daylight. We cannot see the tree branches on the paper, but the condensensation that dripped onto the paper is recorded. Our food and our waste. Peeing in a plastic bag was more difficult than I expected.