Futuristic landfill vs spiritual beings, the mid-level knowledge worker, and abstract-expressionist ants. A/V for an expanded me

More A/V for your open soul… harvested from the free web (long may it last).

Above is the video for Icelandic titans Sigur Rós’s new track, Skel. From their Vimeo blurb, an explanation from the video maker, George Jasper Stone:

Through the film I wanted to portray a journey through the perspective of a spiritual being. I like to create work that emulates a simulation, where virtual spaces possess their own agency and evolve based on their interactions. My intention was to showcase two distinct environments: one representing a living utopia or a thriving ecosystem, while the other portrays a futuristic landfill reflecting the environmental consequences of human actions. Skel connected to emotions of vulnerability within the context of the crisis. I wanted to capture the transition between these two virtual spaces, experiencing a sense of chaos and instability.

For an equal kind of trip. we also recommend George’s Superstars (2023)

Picked up in the same Vimeo Staff Pick trawl, the very obverse of Sigur Ros’ techno-spiritual being - Mikey Van Beuren and his relentless critique of the “mid-level knowledge worker” above. Blurb: “A young phone-addicted knowledge worker, with all the traditional trappings of success, confronts the reality of an unfulfilled life.”

From Aeon:

An artist and ants collaborate on an exhibit of ‘tiny Abstract Expressionist paintings’

The US artist Catherine Chalmers creates work at the intersection of nature and culture, often centring on humanity’s complicated relationship with the insect world. Antworks is a unique artistic collaboration between Chalmers and a colony of leafcutter ants found on the Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica. For the short film, Chalmers captured these ants cutting, stripping and carrying leaves from a colourful plant that she had set them upon. Per Chalmers, these resulting leaf fragments looked like ‘tiny Abstract Expressionist paintings’ once separated from their source. The resulting short is an amusing, strangely riveting contemplation of the minds – and perhaps even aesthetic sensibilities – of these fascinating creatures.