Introduction and interview by Emily Oldfield
How often do you think about your connection to objects around you? It may sound like a strange question, but it’s a thought pattern being encouraged by a new film essay ‘Afterlife’ – made and shot in Manchester – which looks at objects which have undertaken a journey of migration, and their connections to people.
Migratory objects are those which have travelled time or distances – for example artefacts in a museum, imported products on display, even items in a charity shop. In order to explore these, ‘Migration’ was made in collaboration with the Egyptology Department at The Manchester Museum and the Sue Ryder Charity Shop in the city– and filmed in both.
Directed by Howard Walmsley and produced by Giulia Mattei, the film explores a range of objects from both locations, in an eerie and atmospheric way. From hieroglyphics to Hello Kitty-like characters, ancient pottery to cut-glass vases, the filming builds up a range of content through splicing and juxtaposing.
The combinations of new and old the video unleashes, results in an unnerving but thought-provoking watch. It raises questions like – what is a museum? When does a series of objects stop being artefacts? And much more besides.
Deep questions are drawn to the surface, encouraged by the strategic choice of a soundtrack which blends sections of reading from the Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead with fragmented and eerie accounts of memories and loss, styled as a radio broadcast.
The filmed content of layered pasts, a range of recording mediums and intense style leads the viewer to ponder the likes of – what is the difference between a cultural artefact and consumer item? What is our relationship to them? And could the contents of a second-hand store stand as a museum in their own right?
HAUNT spoke to director Howard Walmsley to find out more…
Hello Howard. What was the inspiration behind the film essay?
“I have always been fascinated by the mystery and imagery of ancient Egypt… how these have been co-opted into kitsch exotica and particularly into the afro futurism of Sun Ra.
“Egyptologist Campbell Price was interested in commissioning a project that would look at themes of migration. All the artefacts in the collection have made a journey across time and location, they have all migrated culturally from practical use to altered cultural status.
“It seemed that the simple concept of colliding the artefacts in the museum with items in the charity shop could be more than a surreal intervention and might lead to some interesting questions about our relationship with objects.”
Why did you decide on the title ‘Afterlife’ – and does that mean objects have had a ‘life’, so to speak?
“The film features Campbell reading texts from the Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead, which is both a manual and passport for the afterlife... many of the objects placed in tombs were for use after death. In contemporary society, we often send objects into a new existence by passing them on to new ownership and reuse via a charity shop.
“Belief in rebirth has a direct relationship with the activities of the charity shop.”
Was the selection of objects random or purposeful? Why?
“We made several visits to both locations and over that time, were able to build up a visual dialogue between the images we shot. In the museum we had access to what was on display in the galleries and what was possible backstage - there is a secret door that leads through winding corridors to the Ancient Egypt and Sudan store room, an atmospheric place with racks of mummies, statues and the wonderful AIWA radio cassette player featured in the film.
“Each time we visited the Sue Ryder Charity Shop, the display in the shop changed due to sales turnover and creative arrangement by the staff. We selected objects which would either mirror each other across both spaces or work in direct contrast. These relationships were then exploited by intercutting and layering.
“You mention Hello Kitty… impossible to see that without thinking of the goddess Bastet, who has the head of a cat.”
The migrated objects in both settings seems to suggest that a charity shop could be a kind of museum in its own right. Do you think this is the case?
“We smuggled some items out of the museum and placed them in the charity shop. We wanted to blur the locations, to leave the audience wondering what they are looking at. This sense of disorientation encourages an appreciation of the antiquities as regular everyday things, while giving a sense of mystery and strangeness to the contemporary.
“There is a shift in Museum thinking, which acknowledges historical western colonial pillaging and moves towards contemporary outreach - this project is part of that.
“In a way, the charity shop is a cultural sign of our times… a solution for many people suffering from the regime of austerity under which we currently live.”
There is a real ghostly sense to this video and some people may well describe old artefacts as ‘creepy’. Do you think there is a capacity in objects to frighten people?
“I think that is down to the sensitivities of the viewer…
“The AIWA radio broadcasts readings from the Book of the Dead which punctuate the film and give an eerie, timeless atmosphere. This affects how we see the objects and locations and then perhaps affects how we may see those things in our daily lives. Look at an object, consider its history and then how long it might last… then apply those questions to yourself… human impermanence.
“Personally, I don’t that that frightening, but I know some people may find those thoughts disturbing.
“The objects in the film are sometimes seen in isolation and sometimes shown in relationships with visitors to both sites. It was a conscious decision to overlay and loop the figures in the film, as this is to draw attention to the physicality of the objects and to reduce the humans to impressions or ‘ghosts’. This idea of people as ghosts is underlined by the soundtrack. We used a kind of reconstructed E.V.P. (Electronic Voice Phenomenon) where strange sounds on recordings are interpreted as spirit voices, messages from the dead.
“Selections from the interviews were re-recorded on cassette tape in a washing machine drum… I’m not sure if the results were channeled through the helpful spirit of a possessed washing machine engineer or produced simply by the acoustic environment of the drum.
“These tensions between the ordinary and the surreal are also explored in our forthcoming film ‘Double Serum Timeless Classic’ where we explore how the text used in the promotion of beauty products can be interpreted as magical spells for transformation.”
Afterlife will be part of the forthcoming Heritage Futures exhibition at Manchester in November.
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