70 mm, 21 min. Silent.
Equinox begins with a uniform field of black, then gradually moves through progressively lighter fields of gray until it reaches white, then reverses toward black. Of the film’s total running time, half is darker than middle gray and half is lighter than middle gray. Despite its appearing to be in black and white, it is a color film made by exposing a standard roll of 70mm print stock to the three colored lights in a contact printer. In shifting combinations, these lights produce the range of monochrome densities from black to white.
This work was conceived in 2013 as a companion piece to Spectrum Reverse Spectrum, a 70mm film I completed in 2014 that presents the light spectrum from violet to red and back again. The material origins of both films, the equivalent of camera originals, are the timing tapes that control the lights in the printer. Without images to direct your attention, both films remind you of the body you inhabit, an effect enhanced by the size and brilliance of 70mm projection.
Margaret Honda, born in 1961 in San Diego, USA, is an artist based in Los Angeles. Her work in film and sculpture examines the status of materials and the malleability of production protocols. Her films have screened in festivals and been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions worldwide. After Spectrum Reverse Spectrum in 2014 and 6144 x 1024 in 2018, this is her third participation in Forum Expanded.
