In Its Form Asleep (S)

Antoinette Zwirchmayr's serenely composed images create a calm, surrealistic atmosphere of transformation. As if time were suspended, her still lifes linger with lucid clarity in a state be- tween dream and consciousness. A male body, seen through the filmmaker's lens, reveals abstract, sculpted forms, reminiscent of classical statues. Breathing softly, the dreamer is alive. When shadows paint the sleeping man's skin, it seems as foreign as the surface of the moon in the first shot. The quail eggs resting atop his upper legs conjure up thoughts of birth and rebirth through sleep. While the images seem to be corresponding silently with one another in a dreamlike logic, the film projector hums, shedding light on interior and exterior. (Julia Dossi)