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| < | > | Eltham Palace [film still] 2010 digital film with sound 5 mins 24 | |
Eltham Palace is a restored and ultimately commoditised building, owned by English Heritage. It is a palimpsest of medieval, art deco and contemporary architecture. In this film, we hear Eltham's staff preparing for a tour group's immanent visit, via walkie-talkie messages and beeping. The Palace awaits its tour group as the sun creeps in, the film's hesitant panning never quite offering us a full portrait. Continuing this idea of what is shown of the building and what is left undisclosed, a script accompanies Eltham Palace, existing independently as a text. The film's sound offers an aural illustration of the Palace's present identity as a commodity, a historical site requiring maintenance, and as an archive of thematic space. By indulging ourselves in a periodised narrative, we affirm the pull of the past on the present, sometimes at the cost of parts of the Palace we've chosen to ignore. Sound by Alex Morrison. With thanks to English Heritage and the staff of Eltham Palace. Eltham Palace was shown in a film screening organised by TactileBosch gallery at Cardiff's Millennium Centre in October 2011. |
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