Grows More Distant will be a continuation of an ongoing series of live and documented performances on the theme of bodies in crisis, which I began developing in 2020. The series also questions our familiarity with and access to these modes of viewing and witnessing as spectators in our highly saturated screen-based cultures. This new work aims to examine the experience many share of struggling in isolation, of sheer desperation and loneliness, and escapism during moments of panic or internal crisis. It also expresses a kind of seeking or longing for connection to a higher intelligence, and points outward to surrounding lifeforms and our increasing alienation from natural ecologies and patterns of (inter)dependence.
The short film will depict a woman alone in deep clear waters struggling to stay afloat, being tumbled under waves, gasping for air for what seems like perpetuity.
Serene, dreamlike scenes of sea life will cut between poetic shots of the drowning figure such as footage of whales swimming with dolphins, unidentifiable pink blob-like sea creatures, and seals engaging the camera. The director of photography, underwater videographer Hassan Khan has traveled to shoot the phenomenon of bait balls, when fish gather in a feeding flurry to eat freshly hatched krill, which then attracts larger predators. Large whales will also travel long distances across oceans around the world to feed on newly spawned krill at an exact moment. There is an innate knowledge we as humans have seemed to have lost touch with.
The role of the drowning woman in the center of this short film will be performed by a professional free diver. A reference I’ve been using for this lonely figure is the haenyeo, the name for women who practice the disappearing tradition of free diving for seafood as livelihood off the coast of Jeju in South Korea. Hanyeo dive and swim without any specialized breathing equipment for long stretches, collecting octopus, oysters, sea squirts, abalone, sea cucumbers. Due to the dangers of the open water and unpredictable sea, this kind of free diving is practiced communally, and hanyeo never perform their jobs without the reliance and watchful eyes of their group. In stark contrast, the drowning figure in Grows More Distant is fatally isolated.
Learn More: http://xaviercha.com