No Room in Hell (Absent Qualia) 1997. Polarised 3D video installation with sound, 17 mins, dimensions variable.
No room in Hell (Absent Qualia) is probably the first 3D film to be entirely shot, edited and publicly presented in the digital video format. It is the first 3D zombie film ever made and is certainly the first 3D, site-specific zombie film.
The video was shot in and around Matt’s Gallery in East London, where it was also exhibited. In the darkened gallery, the stereo video was projected in colour onto a purpose built reflective screen and the 3D effect was achieved using polarising filters and glasses. The viewer was embedded in the action in this sculptural installation, which extended beyond the normal flatness associated with screen-based video. As well as functioning within the tradition of horror and kitsch associated with 3D film, No Room in Hell also invoked ideas inherent in expanded cinema. The subtitle (Absent Qualia) pointed to a particular philosophical debate, which uses zombies as a metaphor for an exploration of human consciousness in relation to artificial intelligence and learnt behaviour.
In the video, a group of young ‘zombies’ are drawn towards the gallery through a landscape of urban dereliction. They gain access to the building and set about exploring and searching for some purpose. The audience took the same route to the gallery as the zombies did and watched the film in the same space where the action concludes. ‘No Room in Hell’ referenced the numerous manifestations of ‘zombies’ in history and culture and alluded to the perennial stigmatisation of youth culture, as well as the process of making and consuming art. The 3D effect, was described in Frieze magazine (issue 39, review by Neal Brown), as being "unpleasantly consciousness raising" and "enjoyably silly and appropriate... the scale is impressive".
Technical details: 2 x synchronised (L&R) videos with sound, 2 x video projectors with polarising filters, aluminium coated screen, polarising glasses, array of 6 speakers. Originally exhibited on synchronised Laserdisc players and twin CRT projectors.
See also: No Room in Hell photographs
Overview of works in stereoscopic 3D: Selected stereo (3D) projects |
