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For 24 hours Dutch artist Guido van der Werve stood on the north pole, turning at the pace of the earth in the opposite direction of the earths rotation. “Nummer Negen: The Day I Didnt Turn With The World” (2007) plays with the chronological understanding of time by physically turning away from it- the movement of sun and shadow show a visible cycle of time whilst the central figure shows a constant unchanged form. Condensed into a video of 8 minutes is an observation of an ultimate standstill moment- the focal point being a point of calm immersed in passing winds and ice cold temperatures. This work shows a simple stillness contrasting with the endurance of the artist and internal stamina, you can only images the thoughts running through his head over this lengthy period of time.

Van der were extends the ideas of his work into his own life, splitting his time between a quiet lakeside in Finland for half the year and busy, social Berlin for the other half. He talks of Finland being a place to refuel without the pressures of deadlines and time saying that “lots of good ideas are born from boredom”. This relates to the idea of slowing down being a powerful tool in creating something great .

I like how this work enters a meditative realm with a moment separated from time and environment- I hope that this work inspires time based explorations and helps to investigate a ruminative state within video. The vast and bare landscape along with muted colours provides a representation of calm that I can use to influence my work.