Unheimliche (2008)

Digital Video, Loop, 13m 24s

Two figures, one male, one female stand side by side silhouetted by a bright, dazzling light. Details of the figures are unclear due to the lighting. They are outside; a few details of a garden and house are visible but the setting remains ambiguous. There is little to no movement except the rising of steam off the two bodies, creating a tableaux vivant.

This lack of movement, and complete lack of narrative, is very unsettling. Time is obviously passing as the steam is rising but the figures barely move throughout the entire film. The figures appear to be human, the difference in sex can be determined and they are clearly emitting heat, but they are seemingly lifeless and thus become uncanny: familiar yet foreign. In viewing Unheimliche the viewer encounters a strong feeling of the uncanny, further emphasised by the lack of sound; the viewer is given no clues to interpret the imagery and is left alone with their thoughts.