The Wooden Lightbox: A Secret Art of Seeing

Alex MacKenzie perfected the art of film projection. At the core of this approach is the use of a homebuilt hand-cranked projector in an expanded cinema format to present a striking array of handmade and processed emulsion. Presented here is the first of an extended cycle of films that use the early development of cinema as a marker for cultural, technological and economic change. Hypnosis, panorama, motion studies, expectation, magic, the dream world and sleight of eye conspire in this intimate and immersive framework. Film speed is varied manually by cranking more quickly or more slowly, while direction of the action is controlled by winding forward and backward. Colour gels are used to tone the black and white images, while lens and hand interference are used to distort or partially obscure the image. MacKenzie throws us back to a time when audience expectation was open. We recommend seating yourself where you can keep an eye on both screen and projector.