Red Impasto Jar - Jonna Kina
By unveiling and deconstructing forms and methods, Jonna Kina’s works suggest complex questions dealing with a diverse range of topics: the trans-sensory power of sound; the relations and exchanges between artifice and reality; the mechanisms of translation; the relationship between the viewer and the artwork.
Red Impasto Jar portrays the state of a looted burial object within a three-minute, single take. The film focuses on the detailed documentation of the jar with a slow 360° revolution on a robust industrial motor. This ancient Faliscan burial item dating to the 6th century BCE has now been returned to the archeological museum (Mazzano Romano, Italy) by an unknown person, radically altered and damaged. The jar was first looted from a tomb at the necropolis, and then cemented into the structure of a house as a decorative element. Later, in 2015, it was removed from the house and donated to the museum. The title of the film (Red Impasto Jar) refers to the archeological term used for the object. As Jonna comments:
“I was staying in Mazzano Romano, Italy in late 2017. At the town’s small archaeological museum (Museo Archeologico Virtuale di Narce – MAVNA ) I became interested in an ancient looted tomb object that was presumably originally intended for use in the afterlife. The thought of breaking into the grave, stealing, and eventually regretting, began to fascinate me. The object seemed to tell a multi-dimensional story that involved the afterlife, the aura of an art object, scientific valuing, past and present, our relationship to other cultures and so on.
“We filmed Red Impasto Jar at the archaeological museum in Mazzano Romano. I wanted to film the jar with detailed choreography as it rotated slowly through 360° revolution on top of a mechanical motor. The motor being visible is essential: to reveal the mechanism but also creating a dialogue with the 2500-year-old object.
“In addition to Red Impasto Jar, I filmed After Life in which I explore transcendental issues through archaeological and illegal excavations of tombs. This film is constructed of short meditative scenes depicting the ruins of the Cavone di Monte Li Santi necropolis and its natural surroundings, around the ancient city of Narce. The tomb chambers in the necropolis had been looted before archaeologists discovered them in 2015. This phenomenon of looting archaeological sites exists in remote areas. Both Red Impasto Jar and After Life deal with transcendental themes through archaeological and illegal excavations.
“I have combined these two, separate works into a single screening version that will be shown as part of the 71st Berlin International Film Festival Forum Expanded Program in June 2021.
For more information about the festival, use this link:
https://www.berlinale.de/en/programme/programme/detail.html?film_id=202109624
To see a short clip from the original Red Impasto Jar film, follow this Vimeo link:
Red Impasto Jar – full details
2021, 35mm film transferred to 4K / HD. Duration: 3min 21sec. Ratio: 4:3.
Directed, written, edited by Jonna Kina; Cinematography: Ville Pippo; Sound design: Jonathan Fuhrer; Archaeological advisor: Orlando Ceracuolo; Engineer consulting: Gregoire Rousseau. In collaboration with Museo Archeologico Virtuale di Narce MAVNA; Distribution: Av-Arkki - The Center For Finnish Media Art, Arsenal - Institute for Film and Video Art E.V. Production support: AVEK, Arts Promotion Center Finland, Finnish Cultural Foundation, Greta and William Lehtinen Foundation
After Life – full details
2021, 35mm film transferred to 4K / HDDuration: 5min. Ratio: 4:3. Directed, written, edited by Jonna Kina. Cinematography Ville Pippo. Sound design Jonathan Fuhrer. Archaeological advisor Orlando Ceracuolo. Post-production support: Timo Teräväinen. Distribution: Av-Arkki - The Center For Finnish Media Art, Arsenal - Institute for Film and Video Art E.V. Production support: AVEK, Arts Promotion Center Finland, Finnish Cultural Foundation, Greta and William Lehtinen Foundation
Jonna Kina’s works have been presented in international exhibitions and festivals: Tokyo Photographic Art Museum; International Film Festival Rotterdam; Berlinale Forum Expanded; Espoo Museum of Modern Art EMMA; Musée de l’Elysée, Lausanne; Moscow Biennale for Young Art. Nordisk Panorama selected Jonna’s film Arr. for a Scene as the Best Nordic Short Film for 2017.
For more information about Jonna and her work, use this link:
