Documentary Video: 2017-2019
These videos have been filmed and edited by Emit Snake-Beings during travels through Asia, middle-east and Europe.
First they took our houses- Genocide and gentrification in Cambodia from Emit SnakeBeings on Vimeo.
Filmed around the diamond island investment complex of 'Elite Town': an exclusive gated community in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. This J. G. Ballard-esque environment, partially deserted, partially under construction, is the starting point for the video which links guided-tour recordings from the S21 genocide museum and conversations had at the time.This video works as a companion with "Boeng Trabaek Channel". The title is a reference to Angelina Joli's movie "first they killed my father" based on the book of the same title.
Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 2019. Boeng Trabaek channel from Emit SnakeBeings on Vimeo.
A journey through Boeng Trabaek channel which runs through south end of the city of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Filmed and edited by Dr Emit Snake-Beings over the two months spent crossing 'stink canal' on a daily basis, whilst staying in the city January - February 2019. At the southern most part of the city the canal becomes a catchment area for the plastic floating down with the sewage and waste water of Phnom Penh. Metal cages keep the plastic within the boundaries of the city whilst allowing the water to pass under a road and out into the countryside to the Mekong river. The people living at the southern end of Boeng Trabaek channel gather and sell the many water snails that thrive in the nearby swamps and wetlands. The repetitive sound of the snail seller's motorbike mounted loud hailer can be heard on the soundtrack of the film, mixed in with other sounds recorded in the streets during the time in Phnom Penh.
Tbilisi, Georgia 2019
The silver boot from Emit SnakeBeings on Vimeo.Based on the legend of the golden fleece.
To fleece or be fleeced, that is the question.
Filmed and edited by snakebeings in Tbilisis, Poti and Batumi, Georgian. Voices recorded in cafes, trains and stairwells. Dialogue recreated from conversations in Armenia and Georgia 2017.
The sacred Joggers: An exercise in devotion. Filmed and edited in Kathmandu, Nepal and Bodh Gaya India 2018
Video showing the influences of joggers on the temple environment at Buddhist temples in Nepal and northern India. Footage was gathered using unobtrusive camera phone and DSLR often shot at hip level. Filmed at Swayambhu, Bouddha: Nepal & Mahabodhi temple, Bodhgaya: India
Ritual Remnants
A portrait of Emit Snake-Beings on Vimeo.
Interviewed by Karen Karnak this video explores the snakebeings archives, cutting between timezone and location to explore some of the creative strategies and ideas behind work seen on this website.
Alternatively titled "Ritual Remnants", after the exhibition in Port Chalmers 2018, the documentary follows the creative practice of Emit Snake-Beings which incorporates electronics, sound, video and sculpture. "Ritual Remnants" describes the left-over images, sounds and video material which have been created almost as a by-product of the more performance-based aspects of the creative practice. Whilst "without conscious effort" is a way of describing the way that materials collaborate in the formation of new technologies which fuse together art and science and the more mystical side of electronic alchemy. Drawing on a vast archive of material the visuals are used as trigger points to initiate or illustrate topics brought up in a series of interviews conducted by Karen Karnak during 2018.
Documentary made in Nepal 2018
2018. Kailash in KTM (Kathmandu) Nepal from Emit SnakeBeings on Vimeo.
DiY [Do-it-Yourself] Divinities Series One: Kailash in KTM
Founded by Shree Bijay Malla in 2015, from repeated visions since early childhood, Kailash in Kathmandu is a place of pilgrimage and devotion to all Gods. Mount Kailash, in Tibet, has always held a special role as the centre of worship for many religions. Traditionally pilgrims have circled the holy mountain three times: a massive 52 km trek each circumambulation. Now that the border with China has become more difficult to cross Kailash in KTM brings lord Mahadev closer to you. Located 3.3 km north west of Swoyambhunath Stupa, next to Aadeswor Mahadev temple, Kailash in KTM allows you to see, with your own open eyes the sacred mountain. Pilgrims from around the world have already started to flock to KailashKTM, recognising the location as the holy mountain it is. Close to Ichangu, you will not need to walk more than the 93 steps up to the Aadeswor Mahadev temple, following the track behind the pilgrims graves to find KailashKTM. It is not in any guide books but there you will find an incredible sight.
creative processes documentary made for painter James Robinson.
A short documentary made with the New Zealand painter James Robinson to illustrate some of his processes and approaches to creating art. Filmed in Robinson's home town of Port Chalmers, a remote port-side location in the south island of New Zealand, the documentary is a collaborative reflexive-reconstruction : capturing some of the humorof the 6 days I spent visiting James and making the film during June 2017. The film was shown in Te Manawa Museum of Art, Science and History, Palmerston North from 8th December until June 2018 on a continual loop over six months to accompany the James Robinson exhibition 'Doors'.
gLYPHICAsOS -
Collaboration Audio + Visual jam with Leben Young, None Gallery, Dunedin. August 2018.
Edited with layers and cut-up fragments of the original 30 minute performance.
Travels in Kerala 2017/2018
Techno-Animism:
Filmed at London Hackspace an open-source maker space located in Hackney E8.
Machines made by Emit Snake-Beings during 2017 & 2016 for Hull, UK city of culture.Hear the original sound sources in the audio archive.
Bingo-Splicer / Bingodisiac device
Prime numbers are selected randomly and displayed as dotmatrix. Sound is selected from seven internal Mp3 players. Voices, music, street recordings and collected sounds are fed into the bingo-splicer which then chops up the sounds into fragments. A nine step rhythm generator (Nine switches in a circle generating trigger beats) is fed into seven sound gates. Patterns are made from the trigger beats allowing short fragments of sounds to go through either left or right oscilloscopes and into the sound recorder.
Various layers have been overdubed and edited.
Ethnographic film:
Others from the portrait series:
exploring their creative practices and approaches to technology and art.
Interactive devices
DiY[do-it-yourself] experimental electronics is a large part of my work. Using Arduino I discovered that I could make quite complex sound making devices, including the Bingodizicator device (or numeralogical sound Masticator) on the interactive electronics page (see link below). I am currently working on a series of Arduino sensors to create a nine channel theremin-type unit to control a DiY analogue synthersizer i have built using a programmable Axoloti soundboard and miles and miles of wires... Various other interactive devices made by Dr Emit Snake-Beings are archived on this site, including the collection of over 30 coin-operated electrical shrines made between 1990 & 2001 and later devices using Arduino, Axoloti and Raspberry Pi technologies. There is also a collection of macromedia Flash interactive devices, such as the various cut-up and linguistic Masticators burried within the deeper realms of the archive. For a start you could try looking at the 'Interactive Diy Electronics page' or the 'Electrical shrines' page both under the 'Arte-Facts' tab above.