The installation explores inevitability; the sudden moment when potential energy becomes kinetic is captured in ultra slow motion, barely detectable in its near frozen motion. Filmed in one single shot, the film shows the body of Malkowski – a dancer whose practice focuses on deliberate interactions with lack of control – falls towards the cameras, only to recover and return to the starting position again. The angles of the cameras reveal contrasting perspectives of the body at each moment. The resulting film is a simple visual image which speaks to moments of personal and social collapse and recovery, and the repetition of this arc. It was filmed using four ultra high speed cameras and a series of neural networks in Berlin in 2022.

The music traces Malkowski’s form, ending where it starts, creating an elegant cycle. The audience is sympathetically suspended between two moments, often unsure of the subject’s trajectory. This ambiguous space between glacially-pace self-destruction and the potential of a return to one’s feet become two aspects of the same dynamic. One need not look far to see that we are often suspended perilously close to both. The artists seek to acknowledge these ouroboric repetitions, be they personal, systemic, global or political, while seeking constructive (rather than destructive) actions within this cycle.

»Vandals« was co-commissioned by Arctic Arts Festival and CTM in 2022. The installation is closely related to Sam Slater’s upcoming solo album, I do not wish to be known as a Vandal to be released on Bedroom Community in June 2022.