Falling Rope

Overview

Falling Rope was initially inspired by a 1907 photograph by Herbert Ponting of Shiraito (literally, 'falling string') Waterfall, in Fujinomiya, with Mount Fuji in the background.

In Mirza’s installation, footage of a nearby waterfall with larger streams (hence, 'falling rope') is projected onto the screen of a dismembered LCD monitor that sits on the floor; an upside-down speaker cone, shaped like a mountain peak, hangs adjacent. Three wall-based assemblages repeat the motif of falling. They also generate sound, which, along with the white noise of the waterfall’s gushing water, combine to form a rhythmic composition.

The doorway to the gallery housing the projection and the speaker cone is outlined in blue LED lights, framing the space much like Ponting’s original photograph.

This flattening of three-dimensional space into two dimensions also echoes the landscape murals that have historically adorned Japanese bathhouses, which often used water from natural hot springs. Waterfalls and mountains were seen as national symbols of beauty and cleanliness.


2013

This project was part of Sharjah Biennial 11