TUNNEL

by Thomas Demand (1999)

2 min, 35mm Filmloop, Dolby SR



Thomas Demand is known for making photographs of three-dimensional models look like real images of rooms and other spaces. The subjects represented in Demand´s photographs often relate to scenes of cultural or political relevance.

‘Tunnel’, Demand's first film,  presumably shows a fast-paced tracking shot through the tunnel in which Lady Diana Spencer, Princess of Wales, died in a car crash. At first the viewer seems to remember seeing these images in the media. But in reality the set is a true to life, cardboard mock-up of architectural details. Under closer inspection, one also realizes that instead of reproducing reality Thomas Demand creates a perfectly-constructed model world. The cleverly-lit cardboard scenery takes up an incident of recent history and, in doing so, mirrors the illusionary features of what appear to be familiar images. The film literally reflects upon the model of our relationship to images from the mass media. In the process, the construction, representation and repetition of reality create a complex weaving of connections. That the accident used as the theme was the result of a hectic, car chase caused by paparazzi lends the work yet another aspect of the reflection of the media.

Despite adopting some of the tools of the cinema, Demand describes his film as ‘more an animated still image than a cinematographic undertaking’. His interest lies chiefly in the formal qualities of the piece, which he relates to both musical composition and minimal structures. Thus, although the film can be considered as a succession of evenly spaced still images, these images are tightly choreographed into an overall structure comprising several slightly different sequences. In each sequence the artist has introduced variations in, for example, the speed of the camera, its direction and angle, and the length of the dark passages between each drive-through.

To see the video, click on the link below. Enjoy.

Tunnel (1999)