Movement for Two Grannies (2011) Laiwan.mov

Movement For Two Grannies by Laiwan is the fourth in the 10 Seconds series of commissioned works for the Canada Line video screens as part of a yearlong project celebrating Vancouver 125.

Movement For Two Grannies is an elegant and ethereal work of cinematography that features two Chinese grannies engaged in a moment of intimate and affectionate friendship. Shot on green screen, the backlit grannies are placed against a shimmering flow -- oceanic, vast and expansive, rippling with an ancient lineage. The scene is surreal, sensual and serene, unlike the environment of the Canada Line Skytrain Stations. The slow movements of the grannies are in sharp contrast to the function of Light Rapid Transit systems designed to move commuters efficiently, spaces not user-friendly for our grannies. Here, Laiwan proposes an endearing rendition of a 10-second action movie, unhurried and cherished.

"For the 125th birthday of Vancouver, I celebrate my elders with 'Movement For Two Grannies'. With tenacity, endurance, resilience and humour they move forward passing on values and ethics, rituals and philosophies, through daily movements that ripple out beyond Vancouver. Their legacy and lineage are the foundations of a strong, vibrant cultural community in Chinatown. Dedicated to the spirit and life of my grandmother and all grandmothers for their everyday endurance and persistence despite our cultural and social neglect of elders" (Laiwan, 2011).

Laiwan is an artist with a wide-ranging practice that follows her interest in cross-disciplinary projects. She is also a writer, educator, curator and activist. She founded the Or Gallery in 1983 and initiated the First Vancouver Lesbian Film Festival in 1988. Recipient of the 2008 Vancouver Queer Media Artist Award, she teaches at Goddard College in Washington State in the MFA Interdisciplinary Arts Program. www.laiwan.wordpress.com

Movement For Two Grannies launches July 18th to July 31st on the Canada Line subway video screens and on www.youtube.com/offonmain & www.facebook.com/ONMAIN. A new work will be featured each month on the Canada Line April 2011 to March 2012, playing every 2 minutes to an audience of over 100,000 commuters per day.

Catch 10 Seconds - Hippie Chick by Dana Claxton, Slash Forward by Michael Turner, One Percent by James Yan and Laiwan at YOUR KONTINENT: Richmond International Film & Media Arts Festival July 21-24 at the Richmond Cultural Centre www.ykfestival.ca (get off at Brighouse Station).

10 Seconds is curated by Paul Wong and presented by On Main in partnership with InTransitBC. Commissioned by the City of Vancouver Public Art Program with the support of Vancouver 125 and the participation of the Government of Canada.

For further information please contact onmain@gmail.com.

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• Movement for Two Grannies
• Laiwan
• 2011
• Canada Line
• Vancouver 125
• Paul Wong
• 10 Seconds
• elegant
• ethereal
• cinematography
• Chinese
• tenacity
• endurance
• resilience
• humour
• affection
• lineage
• legacy
• Vancouver
• ethics
• ritual
• philosophy
• intimate
• friendship
• persistence
• oceanic
• vast
• ocean
• expanse
• rippling
• shimmering
• sparkles
• flow
• Skytrain
• stations
• surreal
• slow
• contrast