Figures and Grounds II, 2009 (excerpt)
Running time: 5:31 minutes / HD / colour

The transformation of the human gesture is explored through the process of painting and the use of earth and oil as foundational materials.

Painting: Sylvia Safdie
Camera: Sylvia Safdie
Editing: Patrick Andrew Boivin, Brigitte Dajczer, Sylvia Safdie
Audio: Silent

In 1996 I started using earth and oil as my material for drawing and painting. In this extensive ongoing series, I explored the aspect of transformation, as well the gestures and movements of the body. We are in constant motion. Within seconds the gestures we make disappear and evaporate. Movement is life; life is movement. Our gestures in the present are connected to the past and to the future. They are our lifelines. In the series of videos entitled