In a culture whose past has been subject to change due to political ideologies or leaders exploiting it for their benefit, or because of colonialism, it is important to keep track of what really has happened. Most of the time, the records may still be intact, making the process of righting the wrongs easier, but as the process of falsification or bending of the past continues you may find yourself in a tough spot when looking for the truth. In her short essay film “The Sun and The Looking Glass – For One Easily Forgets But The Tree Remembers” artist Miléna Desse contemplates on the concepts of time and memory on the background of a past which consists of stories transmitted through generations. The result, which was also part of an online exhibition last year, is an intriguing and quite fascinating portrayal of the past of a certain place, in this case a small Palestinian village in the West Bank.
The Sun and the Looking Glass – For One Easily Forgets But The Tree Remembers is screening at ALFILM
While the perspective of the feature is from above, from a hill above Ein Qinya, which is the name of the village, Desse focuses on various aspects, mostly objects, such as an old tree or the roads leading to the village and re-tells “their story”. Using a magnifying glass, the truth is uncovered, stories are revealed hidden within the material or texture of the objects the camera focuses on, which are in the end burned (?) on a piece of paper and shown to the viewer. As the village, similar to its surroundings, has been through many changes over time, evident in the architecture of some of the houses which can be traced back to the Ottoman period, the camera becomes a means to record these histories and preserve them, before they are perhaps forgotten.
As you may see from the description, “The Sun and the Looking Glass” follows quite an abstract approach, but one which is also quite rewarding and thoughtful. Through the use of sound and perspective, concentrating on each object and its various features, especially its textures, you cannot help but be fascinated by the stories which these hold in store. Using various film techniques, such as distortion, it seems as if Desse aims to mimic the various processes which changed the nature of these things, for example, the aging of the wood or the corrosion of metal. Each of these aspects evokes the feeling of the passing of time, how the stories contained in these things may be endangered and need to be transmitted to a new generation or be preserved in some way.
“The Sun and The Looking Glass – For One Easily Forgets But The Tree Remembers” is more of an art installation, contemplating on the nature of time and memory, and, above all, about the need to preserve the stories of the past due to their significance to understand the present. Miléna Desse has managed to create an inventive and thoughtful feature which asks its viewer to look closer, perhaps even use a magnifying glass like the one in the film, to uncover what stories are hidden within the elements of our everyday life.
