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There, before

007 / 9 September 2014

 

There, before

2014

Digitized colour film

Runtime: 13 minutes

 

Synopsis:

A drone camera slowly studies landscape formations, finding points of infinite depth on the surface of the image. A meteorite named Akaba, which fell near Ma'an, Jordan in 1949, reveals the story. There, before opens with an anecdote inspired by the proto science fiction narrative, 'Awaj bin Anfaq' written by the thirteenth century thinker Zakariya Al-Qazwini, about a being that comes to earth from a distant planet. The film unfolds into a contemplative sequence of associations and subjunctive fragments, discussing geologic time in connection with the Anthropocene age of human impact.

Tags

Film Jordan

About the author

Isak Berbic

Isak Berbic is an artist working with photography, moving image and performance. His research deals with social histories, politics, humor, exile, and the limits of representation. His recent artworks investigate the overlaps of documentary and fiction in relation to the visualization of contested histories. Isak was born in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and as Yugoslavia disintegrated and Sarajevo was under siege, he and his family became refugees, living in Croatia, a refugee camp in Denmark, and the United States. Isak studied at the Malmö Art Academy, Sweden, and the University of Illinois at Chicago, USA, where he completed his graduate work. In Chicago, he practiced art, and worked at Zambak, an independent culture and politics magazine for the communities of the Bosnian War diaspora. From 2007-2012 he was based in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, where he taught at University of Sharjah, College of Fine Arts and Design. In 2012 he joined the Department of Art at Stony Brook University, State University of New York.