Duke and Battersby

This evening, Union Docs, a small non profit in Brooklyn that wants to show special projects to a bigger audience but also brings people together to develop new film projects, hosted a film night. Three films, all around fifteen minutes, made by the Canadian artists Emily Vey Duke and Cooper Battersby.

In the talk after the screening, they told about their relationship "Only work with people that you fuck, or have fucked for a ong time," as Duke put it. Once, they met, not in person but on paper. They both were putting up provocative posters in a small Canadian town, and recognized themselves in the other persons art. When they finally really met, collaboration was the only option. After seeing their films, I understand that when this is your art and you meet someone that understands it, you cannot let them go. I actually was surprised that there are actually two people who make films like these, and it's extremely special that they actually met.

What I liked about their films is that they combine different art forms: drawings, film, music, collages, weird stories. They don't make documentaries, they don't make films in it's pure form (a story that is being told by images that follow eachother). They are little art pieces, collages of thoughts, images, fragments and sounds, that are being put together. And, like with other art, you shouldn't think of it too much. Instead, just enjoy what you see.

The Beauty is Relentless from cooper battersby on Vimeo.

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