Jennifer West works with an odd variety of materials in order to create her psychedelic, fast-paced films--one would be hard pressed to find another artist who has managed to incorporate fried pickles, chocolate syrup, perfume, bleach, and skateboard skid marks into short video clips displaying bright colors, fragmented scenes, and beautiful yet abstract imagery. West learned early on how to do analog photography, and has been utilizing 16 or 70 millimeter film rolls ever since.
Her primary purpose for using such messy and random materials on her film strips is to explore a physical relationship with film that could be connected to taste, smell, and touch. By physically mutilating and manipulating her film, West manages to interact with other artists, students and acquaintances in a tangible, visible form. She claims the titles of her videos have progressively gotten longer as she attempts to give credit to all participants as well as list all the materials used in the process. She describes her relationship to film as "magical," and watching her videos definitely evokes such feelings of awe and enticement.
Her films are projected from the ground onto the architecture of museums and galleries. West often finds that what she calls "production stills" from her videos can sometimes be far more interesting than the films themselves, and such projections can be seen below.
Electric Kool-Aid Fountain Swimming and Jam Licking and Sledgehammer films, Jennifer West
Good Luck Film, Jennifer West
Lemon Juice and Lithium, Jennifer West
West was invited by the Tate Modern to create a film as a performance. She turned the main entrance ramp into a skateboard ramp, and professional skaters skidded down to mark and tear the strips. The marks were imprinted on top of scenes of the L.A. sky.
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