Copyright: © Tacita Dean, courtesy Frith Street Gallery, London and Marian Goodman Gallery, New York/Paris | CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Photo: Tate
Editor: So, this is Tacita Dean's "Disappearance at Sea." It feels incredibly isolated, almost claustrophobic, viewing that vast ocean through the rigid architecture. What do you see in this piece? Curator: I see a commentary on the romanticization of the sea, and the lighthouse keeper’s role. Dean presents a contemporary perspective, shaped by historical narratives of maritime life and labor. It's not just a pretty sunset, but an interrogation of how we construct and consume imagery of the sea. Editor: So, is the framing device of the lighthouse lens essential to the social commentary? Curator: Absolutely! It highlights the lens through which we view nature. Dean’s use of film further emphasizes the constructed nature of images, questioning the authenticity of our experience. Editor: That’s a brilliant point about constructed experience. Thanks for your insight. Curator: My pleasure. It's a reminder that art's role is often to make us question our assumptions about the world around us.
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http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/dean-disappearance-at-sea-t07455
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Created by the British artist Tacita Dean, Disappearance at Sea 1996 is a 16 mm colour film with sound shot on location at the lighthouse on St Abb’s Head in Berwick-upon-Tweed in northern England. Shown on a loop, the fourteen-minute film consists of seven lengthy shots captured by a static camera that alternate between close-ups of the rotating lighthouse bulbs and footage looking out to sea. As the film progresses the scene changes from dusk to nightfall, with the colour of the sky shifting through a range of yellows, reds and purples. The soundtrack features the noise of seagulls, waves and the wind, as well as the rhythmic mechanical movements of the lighthouse machinery. The film ends with a shot of lighthouse beams panning the darkened coastline as the seagulls’ cries reach a crescendo. It is displayed in a dedicated darkened room with benched seating, grey walls and a light-lock entrance. In this room, the film is projected onto a thin white wooden screen hanging on the gallery wall at a frame size of approximately 2800 mm by 1050 mm. Sound is provided through two speakers located in the corners of the same wall on which the screen hangs. The version of Disappearance at Sea owned by Tate is the third in an edition of three.
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