Ruth Maclennan: Anarcadia

About

Anarcadia is a new film and series of photographs made among the desert expanses of Kazakhstan. Filmed in a vast landscape apparently abandoned by colonial and commercial interests, the protagonists, an archaeologist and a surveyor methodically journey across the symbolically charged terrain. Ruminating on their testimonies about the land, their narratives prompt consideration of its emerging yet unresolved identity and of the impossibility of conceptually and geographically capturing such vast, undefinable parts of our earth. The 35-minute film installation is accompanied by a series of large-scale photographs of left-behind belongings and abandoned shelters which temporarily remain despite the impossibility of permanence in this shifting, elemental landscape. Originally from Scotland, Ruth Maclennan lives and works in London (UK). Ruth devises curatorial and collaborative art projects to enable new contexts for making, experiencing and questioning art and its relation to other areas of life. Co-commissioned by Film and Video Umbrella and John Hansard Gallery, Southampton, in association with Stills, Edinburgh, Ffotogallery, Cardiff and Castefield, Manchester. Funded by Arts Council England, and with the generous support of the British Council. Additional support from the Henry Moore Foundation.