Ergin Cavusoglu: Crystal & Flame

About

‘Crystal & Flame' is a new video work by artist Ergin Cavusoglu. It comprises three sets of imagery: the flame grill at a Turkish café; a gem-cutter handling precious stones; and a group of actors rehearsing in a theatre space. Shot on location across London, it continues a series of works by the artist in which everyday rituals or actions are prefigured by motifs from well-known literary sources. Here, Cavusoglu draws his inspiration from a quote by the novelist Italo Calvino, in which the properties of fire and the phenomenon of crystallisation are held up as exemplars of competing natural forces that echo many of the energies at work in the hubbub of the contemporary city. ‘Crystal & Flame' is commissioned and presented by Film and Video Umbrella in partnership with PEER and is funded, as part of Free to Air, by London Councils.