‘6’ is based on a manual for a Super 8 camera recommending the user not to shoot too short, nor too long takes–“six seconds is usually enough.” Instead of following the recommendation about the length of a take, the count to six is transferred to the actors’ scripts. With numbers as language, their gestures and facial expressions become the focus. In face paint, they perform in front of each other and the cameras, counting down to the take’s end or continuation. Set at dusk, hungry mosquitoes attack the actors and consequently become a prerequisite for the choreography and the editing of the work. With the slow pace and seemingly repeating structure, 6 is testing the attention and endurance of both the persons figuring in the work as well as the viewer watching it.
Julia Sjölin (b. 1992, Skellefteå, Sweden) is a visual artist working in Berlin and Stockholm. She holds an MFA from Malmö Art Academy (2020) and a BFA from Umeå Academy of Fine Arts (2018).
Accompanying text ‘Sechs Six Sex’ written by Muyeong Kim, translated from Korean by Moon Bae.
‘6’ is part of Summer Screen at Forth, a selection of films by international artists, viewable by appointment
