escautville is a production and distribution platform for audiovisual arts

 

An atmosphere of impending doom surrounds the landscape that stretches in front of us. Wind at gale force. A gaseous storm rages across the surface of its rugged terrain, the sky is darkened but blue. A chemical plant rises from the rocks and shows clear traces of decay. Electrical hum and hissing noises of leaking gas cut through an incessant bellowing wind. Searchlights scan the sky. Slow-paced - cutting from one image to the next - we are guided through a series of direct observations that depict a dystopian world under surveillance.

 

Dusking', made in 2009, is based on a 4-second clip, set in a gaseous landscape, that Catrysse had seen in the sci-fi classic, namely Alien. As its title already suggests, Dusking is a tenebrous affair – which begs the question: why is the future science fiction so often talks about always so freakin’ nocturnal?

 

For the production of Dusking Catrysse was inspired by a scene from Alien (1979). In his studio, he recreated the setting of this scene and placed a miniature version of a chemical plant in the midst of this desolate, nocturnal landscape. A storm rages continuously. The play of twilight and flashes of light, combined with ominous industrial sounds, leave much to the imagination. This landscape is not an imprint of reality, but rather suggests the dystopian decay of a rocky landscape, the last idyll that man marvels at.

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