EDUARDO PAOLOZZI: Archaeology of a future
A feature documentary in production, featuring the late artist Eduardo Paolozzi. His visionary, hypnotic voice guides us through a cinematic landscape of war, technology, fascism, and art, kaleidoscopically reconstructing the past in the present.
Supported by: Ffilm Cymru, Paolozzi Foundation, British Library, NESTA, Scottish National Gallery, Tate, Pallant House Gallery and V&A.
Archival trailer, edited by director Gilly Booth, graphics by Paul Plowman, soundtrack by Mike Silver & Dino by Harmonia, sound mix by Harmonic Kinetic.
CONCEPT
‘The highest praise I can possibly give to Paolozzi is to say that if the entire 20th century were to vanish in some huge calamity, it would be possible to reconstitute a large part of it from his sculpture and screen-prints.’
This quote by novelist J.G. Ballard serves as the inspiration for a feature-length documentary in five-parts, ‘EDUARDO PAOLOZZI: Archaeology of a Future’. The film will explore how the life and work of the artist Eduardo Paolozzi was shaped by the destructive and seductive impact of technology in the 20th century, using his own recorded voice as a guide. Each part of the film will focus on a chapter in Paolozzi’s life, examining the cultural history and landscapes of the time. Through specially shot footage, archive material, graphics, visual poetry, and a commissioned sound score, the film will construct a contextual atmosphere for each chapter. The aim of the film is to offer a vision of the 20th century through the lens of the artist, reflecting on the cultural and historical forces that shaped Paolozzi’s work while drawing parallels to our complex world today, making it more relevant than ever.
… the paradox of creativity is that it is always preceded or simultaneously accompanied by, an act of destruction, which is both real and symbolic. The very process of collage makes this inevitable. The word collage is inadequate as a description because concept should include; damage, erase, destroy, deface, and transform all parts of a metaphor for the creative act itself. Thus the creative act of collage is a method of taking the world apart and reassembling it in the order that one understands, and that order is ruled by one’s emotions, intuition and intellect. That is Surrealism. And that is perception.
Eduardo Paolozzi