Henge
2001 / 19'Director:
Daniel Belton
Choreographer:
The dancers under direction from Daniel Belton
Music by:
Nigel Jenkins, Daniel Belton,
Alf West
Photography:
Nigel Bunn
Editing:
Alf West
Performers:
Daniel Belton and Good Company
Production:
Daniel Belton and Good Company
New Zealand"The Henge building process features four contemporary dance artists who survey and map space on a huge 10 m. by 10 m. blackboard. Chalk lines are used; circles are scratched onto the floor, as the foundations are laid in preparation for the construction of a circle of vertical cords - a mandala, a gateway. A language of coded markings emerges through the process of this ritualistic building, while the dynamic soundscape creates a scientific ambience. The roving camera 'sees' in a forensic approach, and the proceedings are recorded from above in time lapse. In the final synthesis, all floor markings are erased, leaving the 'strung' circle of cords - an instrument that future visitors to the site can only wonder at its meaning or function.
We dream, we create ideologies and systems. 'Henge' is about erasure and memory: the loss of the known. Stonehenge is erased memory. We still do not fully understand for what purpose it was built. Is Stonehenge an ancient astronomical observatory, and were the motives of its builders essentially religious?"
Daniel Belton
A tip for the experts: The project has been shot in 16 mm black and white film on 1960's Bolex and CP cameras and edited on an AVID system.
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