David Rokeby : After Jack Chambers

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Video Works : After Jack Chambers (402 towards London) (2017)

After Jack Chambers (402 towards London) is an homage to Canadian artist Jack Chambers. It refers to his painting 401 towards London which represents Highway 401 traversing classic southwestern Ontario landscape on a sunny summer day. This video was recorded along Highway 402, looking towards London, on a drive back from an exhibition in Sarnia, Ontario. The light was extraordinary, and I happened to have my camera with me. I found an interchange that I could shoot from, and recorded video of the traffic passing under me as the light died. I worked with the video in several ways that all proved unsatisfying, until I slowed it down by a factor of 10, as which point, the inexorably slow movement of the cars found a resonant marriage with the gloom of the dusk and the approaching winter... which felt like a fitting way to honour a fascinating and inspiring artist who had died too soon.

History
2017
acquired by Museum London
exhibited as part of "Between Motion and Stillness", Pari Nadimi Gallery, Toronto

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