B and A Conversation
"B and A conversation" is a short film that explores death, site, and fragmentation. It title linguistically queers the childhood game of declaring conversational territories, ie "this is an a and b conversation c your way out". Where "A and B conversation" references the learned ABC's in childhood that later becomes a conversational defense barrier from eavesdropping: "This is an A and B conversation, C your way out!" The titling places the viewer into the position of eavesdropper voyeuristically listening in on Beth and Abbie's non/conversation. "B and A..." is the prequel to "A and B..." Though the production of this film is after "A and B..." the timeline in which the film subject matter exists is before Abbie's psychological break (due to Beth's death).
Throughout the film is interspersed NASA sourced footage. The red terrestrial sequences are of NASA's two twin Martian rovers, Spirit and Opportunity. This footage and the rovers' histories reflect the intimacy between Abbie (Opportunity) and Beth (Spirit). Differing from the sibling-like relations of the rovers however, Abbie and Beth share a romantic bond. The twining within the sequences of this film become stand-ins for the characters themselves. The celestial bodies hold a secondary stance as well, becoming the silent observers of the ongoing Outpost narrative. They exist on a galactic timeline; here before our species' evolution to dominance and here long after our very own extinction. On March 22, 2010 Spirit passed away. The text excerpt paired with "B and A..." reflects the death of Beth while paralleling Spirit's inefficacy. Venus transiting the sun becomes representative to the banality of death. Just as Venus crosses over the sun, so does life pass over to death.
The fragmented twining also creates an uncanny hybridization of place. The two characters are connected in such a way they can transcend distance metaphorically. The two spaces divided in the opening sequence are artist-generated recordings of Michigan and Illinois. Beth and Abbie. Death and Life. The pair compress time and space to create a hybridized landscape site and non-site. As the film progresses the division becomes more and more weighed towards the side representing Beth. Body to landscape. Landscape to text. Text to entropy.
Throughout the film is interspersed NASA sourced footage. The red terrestrial sequences are of NASA's two twin Martian rovers, Spirit and Opportunity. This footage and the rovers' histories reflect the intimacy between Abbie (Opportunity) and Beth (Spirit). Differing from the sibling-like relations of the rovers however, Abbie and Beth share a romantic bond. The twining within the sequences of this film become stand-ins for the characters themselves. The celestial bodies hold a secondary stance as well, becoming the silent observers of the ongoing Outpost narrative. They exist on a galactic timeline; here before our species' evolution to dominance and here long after our very own extinction. On March 22, 2010 Spirit passed away. The text excerpt paired with "B and A..." reflects the death of Beth while paralleling Spirit's inefficacy. Venus transiting the sun becomes representative to the banality of death. Just as Venus crosses over the sun, so does life pass over to death.
The fragmented twining also creates an uncanny hybridization of place. The two characters are connected in such a way they can transcend distance metaphorically. The two spaces divided in the opening sequence are artist-generated recordings of Michigan and Illinois. Beth and Abbie. Death and Life. The pair compress time and space to create a hybridized landscape site and non-site. As the film progresses the division becomes more and more weighed towards the side representing Beth. Body to landscape. Landscape to text. Text to entropy.
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