Exaptation (I)

Exaptation (I) rematerializes a clip from Abbas Kiarostami’s The Wind Will Carry Us (2000), a film renowned for its evocative landscapes with a copy machine. In biology, the term exaptation refers to a trait that evolved for one purpose but is later repurposed for a different function. A classic example is feathers that may have first evolved for insulation and were later exapted for flight. Echoing the concept of exaptation, the video gives existing cinematic images a new function. By recycling the footage and reanimating copies of the film frames in a new format and structure, the video builds a new fictional landscape where the invisible materiality of film and the role of film frames as transparent vehicles for storytelling are disrupted. The recycled video shifts the focus from content and representation to texture, inviting viewers to pay attention to the noisy, tactile and constructed materiality of the filmic image. The audience is invited to see and experience this materiality that is most often remain unnoticed under narrative content.

Exaptation (I) was exhibited at El Museo Gallery in Buffalo, New York, as part of the exhibition Media-As-Things in April 2019.