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Tess Martin

installatie, film, Experimenteel, cross-over, Audiovisueel

Tess Martin is a film and visual artist based in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Her short films, videos and installations address our vulnerability: in relation to nature, the onslaught of time and the precariousness of memory. Tess has both a classical fine art and an animation background and these come together in her work: she pushes the conceptual potential of hand-made animation and the narrative potential of site-specific pieces.

Tess’ work has been exhibited at international galleries and festivals such as TOKAS Hongo (JP), International Film Festival Rotterdam (NL), Ann Arbor Film Festival (USA), and more. She was selected as an artist-in-residence at, among others, the Hawthornden Writer's Retreat (Scotland, 2022), the Camargo Foundation (France, 2019), and the Bogliasco Foundation (Italy, 2017).

1976: Search for Life (short film) - Experimental documentary short film, 11 minutes. A new father visits the hometown of his mother in 1976, accompanied by his wife and baby. At the same time, the NASA Viking lander is sending the first images back to Earth from the surface of another planet. Using the father’s travel journal as a guide, and re-contextualizing archival footage and photographs, this film explores our yearning to bridge the gap: the gap between parents and children, between points in space and between the present and the past. This short film premiered at DOK Leipzig in the International Animated Film Competition in October 2023 and was supported by the Netherlands Film Fund and Gemeente Rotterdam.
1976: Search for Life, 2022, HD video in custom TV cabinet, 8’, papier mache rocks and rock stools, audio on headphones, 11’ - A science-fiction fan visits the hometown of his mother in 1976, accompanied by his wife and new baby. At the same time, the NASA Viking lander is sending the first images back to Earth from the surface of another planet. Using the father’s travel journal as a guide, and re-contextualizing archival footage and photographs, this installation explores our yearning to bridge the gap: the gap between parents and children, between points in space and between the present and the past. TV cabinet constructed by Maurik Stomps; voice-over text written by Stephen Martin, read by Tess Martin, used by permission. This project contains copyright-free archival footage and audio from NASA.
Stilleven met vrouw, thee en brief, 2022, 2′ 14”, HD video - Een foto is een blik in het verleden, maar soms is de grens tussen heden en verleden niet helemaal duidelijk. Deze stop-motion animatie nodigt ons uit om na te denken over onze relatie tot tijd, door een vrouw te portretteren die in het midden gevangen zit. A photograph is a window into the past, but sometimes, the border between past and present is not entirely clear. This stop-motion animation invites us to think about our relationship to time, by portraying one woman caught in the middle. This film was supported in the context of ULTRAKORT, a collaboration between Netherlands Film Fund, VUE Cinemas and the Dutch Association of Arthouse Cinemas (NFO). It premiered in fall 2022 at the Nederlands Film Festival and was screened in Art House Cinemas in the Netherlands (NFO) in January and February 2023.
ORBIT installation, 2020, projected film, discs on turntables, cellphones, 10 looping videos on a monitor and assorted mono prints - This exhibition at the Tokyo Arts and Space Hongo Gallery, from Jan 11 to Feb 09, 2020 consisted of the ORBIT short film, the interactive installation, the monoprint series and monoprint videos - the first time all 4 components were presented together. ORBIT is a project that uses spinning drawings to guide the viewer along the flow of energy through our planet. The looped movements mirror the looping of our planet around the sun, the source of all life, leading us to ponder our place in the natural cycle. Various iterations of the interactive installation and prints were also presented at TAFF in Turku, Finland and as part of the Out of Frame, Out of Mind, Out of Order, Out of Paper group show at WORM in Rotterdam. The installation and prints were supported by the Stimuleringsfonds Creatieve Industrie, and developed at the Kala Art Institute artist residency in Berkeley, CA. Four of the prints & related videos are in the collection of the Kala Art Institute Gallery.
ORBIT, 2019, 6’49’’, HD video - This experimental film uses spinning drawings to guide the viewer along the flow of energy through our planet. The looped movements mirror the looping of our planet around the sun, the source of all life, leading us to ponder our place in the natural cycle. The film is created in the phonotrope technique. It premiered at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, and won the Shortcutz Amsterdam Best Experimental Film award. It has additionally screened at the Ann Arbor Film Festival, Zinebi Bilbao, Theater Rotterdam, and many others, and was supported by the Centrum door Beeldende Kunst, Gemeente Rotterdam, Stimuleringsfonds Creatieve Industrie and the Netherlands Film Fund. The project was initially developed at the I-Park Artist Residency in CT and the Djerassi Artist Residency in CA, USA.
Times Waves, 2019, projected loop (charcoal), framed photo & text, sound machine. - In collaboration with Stellata Koppe, presented at WORM, Rotterdam, December 2019. This piece connects two sides of the North Sea and two time periods: a charcoal animated loop of waves washing on the shore of Fraserburgh, a small town in Scotland, from which Tess’ ancestors fished for centuries, and Hoek van Holland in the modern day, where Stella collected debris and sand to give sound to the waves through a kinetic sculpture. In this way, the sea has become a time traveling device - to connect past and present, coast to coast, water and dust.
Ginevra, 2017, 3’42’’, HD video (paper cut-out) - This experimental animation film is based on an unfinished a poem by Percy Shelley, which in turn was based on the Florentine legend of Ginevra degli Almieri. It posits an alternate version of Ginevra who undergoes a resurrection after being murdered by her husband. The poignant funeral dirge, narrated in the film by Ginevra’s mother, also points to Percy Shelley himself, whose own untimely demise at sea at the age of 29 is the reason the poem remained unfinished. The film, carefully crafted from paper, was made in collaboration with producer Max Rothman, who paired together filmmakers and musicians for this project. Ginevra premiered at the Bellevue Arts Museum in WA, USA alongside sets and puppets used in its creation, and has screened at venues world wide.
The Lost Mariner, 2014, 5’45’’, HD video (photo cut-out) - Jimmie G. was a real patient of neurologist Dr. Oliver Sacks and his unique condition left him ‘unmoored in time’ (as related in the book The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat). This experimental film uses photographs to explore how identity is inexorably tied to memory and the perception of ourselves in time. The Lost Mariner has screened at venues worldwide.
Mario, 2014, 2’54’’, HD video (paint) - Playground songs from one’s childhood leave an indelible mark. This song that we chanted haunted me into adulthood, and for good reason. It tells the story of a soldier who returns from war, finds his girlfriend has left him, and decides to kill her. The seriousness of the story is contradicted by the blitheness of our children’s game. Could it have really happened? This experimental animated film pulls the song back into the present moment, using swirling, morphing paint that blurs the line between real and unreal, fact and fiction, playground game and history.
The Whale Story, 2012, 3’36’’, HD video (mural animation, performance/intervention) - Our human experience is filled with well-told stories of potential, possible, connection with animals. One such story is that of a fisherman, who helped to free a female humpback whale from fishing nets off the coast of San Francisco, and seems to receive a look of thanks from her in return. These stories are repeated over and over to the point of becoming legends, because we will never know for sure. The mystery is what drives the yearning. This experimental film takes on this story by ‘performing’ it in a public park, on a large wall, and inviting the passing community to retell the story in their own words. This project was supported by the 4Culture organization in Seattle, USA, and has screened in venues around the world.

1976: Search for Life at Rencontres Internationales Traverse, Toulouse

Datum:
Locatie: Chapelle des Carmelites

'1976: Search for Life' (single channel video) was included in a group exhibition inside a Chapel in Toulouse, as part of the Traverse experimental art festival. It was projected on an interior wall. This show was on for a month. The short film was also screened in a cinema context during the one week conference portion of the festival.

https://traverse-video.org/tess-martin/

Berlinale Talents

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https://www.berlinale-talents.de/bt/talent/theresa-martin/profile

ORBIT at Rotondes Gallery, Luxembourg

Datum:
In samenwerking met: Rotondes

Orbit short film, installation, prints and print videos on display as part of the group exhibition 'Turn On' at Rotondes gallery in Luxembourg.

https://www.tessmartinart.com/#/orbit/

1976: Touchdown at De Aanschouw

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In samenwerking met: De Aanschouw

Presentation in a small vitrine of a photograph and small installation related to the project 1976: Search for Life.

Artist Residency at Het Wilde Weten

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In samenwerking met: Het Wilde Weten

A three-month artist residency in the projectruimte of Het Wilde Weten to develop new work, culminating in a try-out installation titled 'Dear Rosa'. Supported by the CBK Praktijk Bijdrage.

https://www.tessmartinart.com/#/dear-rosa/

Masterclass at DOK Leipzig

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Locatie: Schaubuhne Lindenfels

Retrospective screening of my work and discussion with curator Franka Sachse.

https://www.dok-leipzig.de/en/masterclass

1976: Search for Life installation

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Locatie: Workshop Gallery

A solo exhibition of the installation 1976: Search for Life, consisting of an 11 minute audio soundtrack on headphones, and an 8 minute looping animated video.

https://www.tessmartinart.com/#/1976-search-for-life-installation/

ORBIT at BRUTUS Wild Summer of Art Part II

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Locatie: BRUTUS

Orbit single channel installation at group show.

https://brutus.nl/nl/programma/programma/wild+summer+of+art+part+ii/

Artist residency at Hawthornden Castle, Scotland

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Locatie: Hawthornden Castle Writer's Retreat, Midlothian, Scotland

A one month residency to work on the script for a film.

https://hawthorndencastle.squarespace.com/

Tokyo Arts and Space - Open Site exhibition

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Locatie: TOKAS, Tokyo Arts and Space, Hongo

A solo exhibition in two rooms, consisting of an interactive installation, videos, a print series and a short film, all related to my phonotrope project ORBIT.

https://www.tessmartinart.com/#/orbit/

ARTnSHELTER Residency and Retrospective

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Locatie: ARTnSHELTER Gallery

I was selected as an artist in residence at the ARTnSHELTER venue in Tokyo. I worked on the storyboard for an upcoming project, and to culminate the residency I had a 4 day 'retrospective' exhibition in the gallery, where I displayed the work-in-progress development for that project, past films were projected and displayed on a monitor, and I gave a presentation about my work.

https://artnshelter.com/2020/01/13/tess-martinthe-netherlands/

Time Waves

Datum:
Locatie: WORM

Time Waves is an installation made in collaboration with Rotterdam artist Stella Koppe. It was presented at WORM on December 7, 2019 and is an animation loop projection with live foley sound and accompanying framed photo.

https://www.tessmartinart.com/#/times-waves/

ORBIT at Theater Rotterdam

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Locatie: Theater Rotterdam

In November and December 2019 a specially edited version of the short film ORBIT was on display on the Theater Rotterdam media wall in the foyer. The film on a loop with other Rotterdam animations originally conceived in the April 2018 group exhibition 'Out of Frame, Out of Line, Our of Order, Out of Paper' at WORM.

https://manifestanimation.com/post/188902424556/special-announcement-five-animations-launch-at

ORBIT exhibition at TAFF

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Locatie: Turku Animation Film Festival

I was invited to present the ORBIT interactive installation, the ORBIT monoprints and print videos as part of the Turku Animation Film Festival in Finland. The 4 day exhibition was, appropriately, in a record store and was well visited. The ORBIT short film was also included that year in the festival's program.

https://vimeo.com/355491823

Artist in Residence at Camargo Foundation

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Locatie: Camargo Foundation

I had the pleasure of spending 6 weeks as an artist in residence at the Camargo Foundation residency in Cassis, France, outside of Marseille. I worked on the development of an ongoing project about memory.

https://camargofoundation.org/programs/camargo-core-program/spring-2019/tess-martin/

Artist in Residence at Kala Art Institute

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I was selected as an artist-in-residence at the Kala Art Institute in Berkeley, CA, an established center for printmaking arts outside of San Francisco. I was able to develop the ORBIT monoprints here (and the subsequent monoprint videos), and my stay culminated in a presentation about my work and the results.

http://www.kala.org/residencies/kalas-media-arts-artist-residence-exhibition-award/

ORBIT at Out of Frame, Out of Line, Out of Order, Out of Paper

Datum:
Locatie: WORM
In samenwerking met: Gemeente Rotterdam

In 2018 I initiated, curated and produced a group exhibition at WORM in Rotterdam, comprised of work by 8 artists with an animation background who had rarely before made work for a space. The result was one weekend of interactive sculpture, participatory installations, projections, VR experiences. My contribution was the ORBIT interactive installation (discs, turntables, cellphones).

https://vimeo.com/264841449

Artist in Residence at Bogliasco Foundation

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I had the pleasure of being selected as one of the artist in residence at the Bogliasco Foundation Residency outside of Genoa. For one month I worked on the development of an ongoing project about memory.

https://www.bfny.org/

Artist in Residence at Djerassi

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I had the pleasure of being selected as artist in residence at the beautiful Djerassi Resident Artist Program in the mountains south of San Francisco. I spent the time developing the ORBIT project.

https://djerassi.org/
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