SCREEN: where did we land by Rabz Lansiquot

March 2 – 23, 2020

Rabz Lansiquot

where did we land, 2019

29:52, HD Video, B&W w/sound & subtitles, recommended viewing with headphones or speakers.

Courtesy of the artist. With thanks to LUX Moving Image

Selected by Elise Lammer

where did we land is an ongoing experiment interrogating the effect of images of anti-black violence produced and reproduced in film and media. The film takes the form of a moving image essay that speaks to the problems of the spectacular for Black subjects onscreen featuring 900 abstracted still images that span the African diaspora, both spatially and temporally, accompanied by a spoken text that features thoughts from Tina Campt, Saidiya Hartman, Guy Debord, Frank B Wilderson III, Susan Sontag and more.

“For many Black people and cultural practitioners in the US, UK and beyond, this decade has been defined by an increase in reported instances of state sanctioned violence against us, exaggerated by an over saturation of images documenting that violence disseminated through news outlets, blockbuster and experimental films, and, most significantly, social media.

The autoplay features on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook have meant that images of Black death or pain at the hands of police or other state institutions, or civilians who believe they are acting on behalf of state interests, are difficult to avoid. As we scroll through our feeds for updates on our friends, family, and the world, we are consistently confronted with visual representations of our own proximity to death. While this proximity is something the majority of us are aware of, whether consciously or unconsciously, the repeated witnessing of this level of violence in the visual realm contains its own form of violence, one that echoes far beyond the initial violation. These images are often created with the intention to hold the perpetrators to account, to increase the likelihood of justice; recorded by bystanders, victims or by state or private surveillance. In recent years I have been concerned with the paradox of these images; their perceived intention, specifically as employed by filmmakers and artists as calls to action or expressions of solidarity; in relation to their psychic, corporeal and sociopolitical effects.

This body of work around violence in the visual field–its utility and impact –is one strand of thinking that stems from my ongoing critique of Black film’s over-reliance on representation as a goal of practice. I think not of what films –that concern the lifeworlds of Black peoples –do in terms of representation, but instead in terms of liberation.”

Text excerpt courtesy of the artist

Rabz Lansiquot is a filmmaker, writer, curator, and DJ. They were a leading member of sorryyoufeeluncomfortable (SYFU) from 2014-2018, producing public programming in a number of institutional and independent contexts in the U.K. and Europe. As of 2019 they work alongside Imani Robinson as the curatorial and artistic collective Languid Hands, who are the Cubitt Curatorial Fellows for 2020-21. Rabz was Curator-In-Residence at LUX Moving Image in 2019, researching towards a programme around Black liberatory cinema. They were a programme advisor for London Film Festival’s Experimenta strand in 2019, and is on the selection committee for Sheffield Doc/Fest 2020. Rabz is also training to deliver Super 8 workshops at not.nowhere and is a board member at City Projects.

Rabz Lansiquot, where did we land, 2019, 29:52, HD Video, B&W w/sound & subtitles, recommended viewing with headphones or speakers. Courtesy of the artist. With thanks to LUX Moving Image