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Charlotte Ginsborg: 22:22

Man in wetsuit standing in front of tank filled with water.

22:22 

Charlotte Ginsborg

March 5 – June 12, 2022

Opening Reception: Sat. March 5 from 7 – 10pm

22:22 tells the story of Tom Sietas, who in 2012 set a world record at that time of twenty-two minutes and twenty-two seconds in Static Apnea, the ability to hold one’s breath underwater.

Through evocative underwater photography, Charlotte Ginborg’s film follows the rising tension of a record attempt interweaved with a contemporary dance performed to a live piano score by Gabriel Prokofiev and choreography by Kirill Burlov. The film combines documentary and fiction to reveal what drives Tom to push his body to physical extremes. 22:22 paints a vivid portrait of a man who has developed an extraordinary ability to control his body to access a unique psychological state. For Tom, to deny breath is to find life.

The work is a meditation on the desire to challenge the boundaries of what is physically and mentally possible to escape everyday constraints. Cocooned in water, the film captures Tom in an elemental state, a physical and psychological €˜body’ seen refracted through the camera’s lens. Cutting between a stark urban warehouse and the depths of a German lake, the addition and denial of light enhance both the cinematic and the metaphorical qualities of the work.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Charlotte Ginsborg is a London-based independent filmmaker. She graduated with an MA in Fine Art from Goldsmiths College in 2002. Through her fine art and photography background, her films combine documentary, fiction, narrative, and performance to create rich multi-layered portraits of diverse communities and engaging individuals. Her work has been screened at the Venice Biennale, the Serpentine Gallery, the Pompidou Centre, Arizona State University Art Museum, and the Walker Arts Center. Her film, Over The Bones, competed in the Tiger Shorts at Rotterdam Film Festival, and her film, 22:22, commissioned by Film London, premiered at the London Film Festival. Her latest film, Songs For The River, was nominated for Best First Feature at Sheffield Doc/Fest21. Her films have been commissioned by Channel 4, the UNHRC, Arts Council England, Poetry in the City, and The Jasmin Vardimon dance company. Recently she has been working with the Trojan Women Project following the experience of Syrian refugees to the UK.