Part of the Gorchakov’s Wish series of works, ‘Fall (An Allegory) – video’ was generated in response to the penultimate scene from Tarkovsky’s film Nostalghia. In what we consider to be an act of translation, the scene’s overt symbolism is fragmented into an allegorical text comprised of word, image, object and action. The allegory itself, which was scripted and performed live, is comprised of five stages: Stage 1 (light); Stage 2 (object); Stage 3 (trace); Stage 4 (image); Stage 5 (fall).

This version of ‘Fall (An Allegory)’ was scripted, designed and performed specifically for its documentation through video. In it, a sequence of live actions are performed at five consecutive locations, or ‘stations’, spanning the length of the Triangle Space at Chelsea College of Art. At each station is a backdrop of white paper and props including: lighter, candles, clay, charcoal pencil, Polaroid camera, bowl of water, salt, blue ink, video projection, black paint. The actions, performed at each station employing these various props, are documented on HD video through a single extended take and tracking shot. The result is a construction of allegory as moving image that encapsulates our appreciation of Tarkovsky’s film image as a complex symbol wrapped in time.

Performance for video in Triangle Space (London, UK, 2008).

https://research.gold.ac.uk/id/eprint/21219