FILM is a portrait of the analogue, photochemical, non-digital medium of film. It was made by turning a Cinemascope lens 90º and upending the usual landscape format of the movie screen so it becomes vertical, scaling itself to the proportions of the Turbine Hall. FILM has been constructed using in-camera and studio techniques, such as masking, double-exposure and glass matte painting, to recapture the sense of wonderment generated by these skills during the early days of cinema. The images have been deliberately created during the film shoot rather than in post-production and edited by hand by the artist alone, evoking a sense of intimacy and a lightness of touch. Tacita Dean has placed her trust in the blindness and spontaneity of the analogue process in order, she explains, "to show film as film can be – film in its purest form".
Playing with the distinctive architectural character of the east wall, FILM has the rhythm and metre of a visual poem.
11 October 2011 – 11 March 2012
Tate Modern Turbine Hall
Bankside London SE1 9TG