Substitute

A question of daffodils, or representation as substitution, or substitution as representation: a film haunted by what remains unsaid and unseen. Some daffodils are observed by a filmmaker, inside and outside, imprinting them upon two different 16mm film stocks, one digital camera and some old lenses… some kind of disturbing anthropomorphic intimacy seems to emerge. “When on my couch I lie / In vacant or in pensive mood / They flash upon that inward eye” said Wordsworth once. Can daffodils be a substitute for joy? In the end, perhaps the daffodils succeed, in and of themselves.

Runtime: 6m 50s.

See it on Vimeo: Substitute.

Available screening formats:
Single channel HD digital video. Source format: Hybrid 16mm (bw and colour stocks) and digital.

Credits: Directed by, camera, editing and sound: Richard Ashrowan