Director: Shireen Seno
Philippines, 2021
17′
My mother used to tell me that our dining table was as old as I am. I wonder how old the tree was when it was cut down and turned into our table. I am fascinated by such processes of transmutation from the natural world to the human realm, and how a tree takes on new forms long after it has been cut down. This video essay incorporates archival photographs from the American Colonial Era in the Philippines (1898–1946), exploring the sticky relationship between humans and nature and its entanglements with empire. Taking plants and trees as starting points, it aims to reflect on the intertwined roots of photography and capitalism in the Philippines.
Community Center
11.10.2023 – Wednesday – 13:00
Shireen Seno is an artist and filmmaker based in Manila whose works address memory, history, and image-making, often in relation to the idea of home. As a recipient of the 2018 Thirteen Artists Award from the Cultural Center of the Philippines, she is known for her films which have won awards at Rotterdam, Shanghai, Olhar de Cinema, Vladivostok, Jogja-Netpac, and Lima Independiente. Her films have been screened at festivals such as New Directors/New Films, Yebisu International Festival of Art & Alternative Visions, NYFF Currents, and institutions such as Tate Modern, UCCA Center for Contemporary Art, NTU Center for Contemporary Art Singapore, National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea and Portikus.
Camera: Shireen Seno
Editing: Shireen Seno
Sound: Shireen Seno
Production: Shireen Seno