For my final outside screening, I saw Neil Beloufa’s The Colonies at Moma.

Out of all of the experimental films I have seen this year, Beloufa’s was the only one that I felt really infused other disciplines into his work.  His exhibition was more of an art installation than it was an experimental film.  He was given a large space to set up his work and used it wisely.  Each section had something slightly different to see.  There were spheres of art, videos, and crafted seating.  Beloufa played a lot with texture, size, and color.

 The clash between rising urban societies and their waste was a theme that ran throughout the piece.  The Colonies was also somewhat interactive because you could actually sit on some of the art and watch pre-recorded videos.  In addition to the videos, there were hidden cameras that recorded the viewers of the exhibit.  The cameras are very ‘big brother is watching’ and admittedly I initially had not even noticed them.

The focal point of the piece is his center video display.  It is a moving display, that uses plastic and glass to project several different videos at a time.  The translucent screens give off a beautiful iridescence and are definitely the first thing people noticed when approaching the exhibit.  Beloufa has several videos screens throughout the exhibit, but some are subtitled in another language and therefore might be hard to understand for most.  However, the theme of trash translates anyway.  All throughout the exhibit there are flattened beverage cans.  Additionally, the art pieces and seating were also made of upcycled/recycled materials.

The Colonies was interesting work from the emerging artist and I am interested to see what he comes up with in the future.

Moma is running Beloufa’s exhibition through June 12.