Graham Kelly

Untitled 2009

A steel plate measuring 62 cm by 31 cm is fixed to a wall at eye level. The surface is scratched and dull. A sequence of lines are etched into it in a semicircular formation, emanating from a single point, 3 millimetres in from the centre of its left edge. The first is straight and 30cm long. Following in a clockwise direction, the next is also 30cm but with a single kink. The next is is identical to the previous but has an additional kink. The pattern continues with each score becoming slightly more degraded. Large areas of empty space have formed further into the image by drastic changes of the line. To the right of the bottom edge is a concentrated number of small vertical marks. A thick sheet of white paper, identical in size hangs directly to the left of the metal plate. Upon it is a mirror image of the markings etched into the steel in black ink.

Untitled 2010

A carousel slide projector is placed at one end of a folding table, facing inwards. There is a small screen towards the middle of the table and a sewing pattern with a triangular optical prism placed upon it at the opposite end. The projector automatically shifts through a sequence of eighty slides converted from each frame of a 4 second digital video clip of an intentional crash by a Formula 1 racing driver. The images are projected onto the screen which is constructed of white foam board; approximately A4 in size and anchored by two toolmakers' clamps. A small vertical slit allows a narrow beam of light to filter through to the other side. The ray is refracted by the prism, casting a spectrum across the sewing pattern which has been taken from a 1988 edition of Burda Modern, the first Western Magazine to be distributed in the Soviet Union and delineates cutting guides with overlaying green and red lines to produce multiple garments from the same sheet.

Coil, Logo, Theme, Spire, Eclipse, Slide 2011

A digital video begins with a close-up of a red mosquito coil set against a green background. The coil is lit and edited with the MGM logo to give the impression that the lion's roar disrupts its plume. The lyric 'dream' from a song by The Everly Brothers loops in the background. It cuts to found tourist footage from multiple sources of the descent of a narrow spiral staircase around the exterior of a church spire. This is followed by an identical mosquito coil, obscuring the light from a projector that faces towards the camera in a darkened room. The opening scene is replayed through the projector, causing the image to flicker. Another sequence of tourist footage depicts bathers spiralling down a concave water slide. The video returns to the opening shot until a segment of ash falls from the burning coil. It ends with a montage, in chronological order of the 'dream' lyric taken from Everly Brothers performances spanning decades.