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'Skip 14' Short Film Online Release

“I was a bit skint, needed a place to exhibit, needed materials and an audience. This is everything in one. I empty it all out, break it all down, clean it up and put it all back in again. The piece of work was the skip sculpture, but it became so much more. I’d say the work became about the gathering of people.” Artist Kevin Harman explaining the origin of his Skip sculpture series.

Synopsis:

The film observes the construction of the scultpure 'Skip 14' by the groundbreaking Scottish artist Kevin Harman, as he removes all the contents from a mammoth skip full of rubbish and reconfigures them into a unique work of art. Filming takes place in Cologne, Germany, over 48 consecutive hours and is a beautiful comment on social issues of community and recycling. This is street art and guerrilla filmmaking at its very best; cheeky, humourous, heart warming and most of all inspiring.

Creating Skip 14:

Skip 14 was self-financed and made for a budget of around £750. I feel that this film is micro-budget filmmaking at its best. A guy in a skip and a guy with a camera!

When I first became aware of the Skip sculpture series I felt there was something special that needed to be captured and showcased to an audience. I share the romance of the works as there’s so much labour and effort that goes into them. The ripple effect it has on the surrounding neighbourhood and community is also quite remarkable. In today’s world, people seem to be interacting less and less and here’s a guy re-configuring a pile of rubbish and causing this chain reaction that engages people to chat and get to meet new people. The questions these sculptures raise amongst the art world are intriguing and there is a true human element by creating contemporary art for people who may not necessarily be involved in that scene. I admired the concept and Kevin seldom documented these incredible works other than with a few photographs, which really weren’t doing them justice – so a film was the natural next step.

Skip 11 was the first skip we filmed in Stockbridge, Edinburgh, back in 2009 and I submitted the film as part of my degree. Once we had completed that film it was only a matter of time before we collaborated again. Kevin was exhibiting at the Cologne Art Fair with the Ingleby Gallery and said he was going to do another Skip sculpture while out in Germany. Without a second’s thought I checked my bank balance to see what I could afford, pulled a few favours and hopped on the ferry with him (he is afraid of flying!) I had an understanding of the general style and how I wanted to shoot the film from the experience on Skip 11, but the live nature of capturing an evolving, time-based public artwork means that filming and production are mammoth tasks.

Realistically, the film’s components are similar to the sculptures and have the potential to come together in hundreds of different ways but I really wanted to echo the gritty, hands-on nature of the Skip works as well as portray as much of a character study of Kevin as possible in the short film format. It was an incredibly intense and demanding experience. Come 8pm on Sunday I could barely hold the camera as my hands were shaking. I was physically and mentally exhausted. It is a very rewarding process though and I think there are always those little moments when you capture something beautiful and it gives you the lift to keep going. I had to be there from start to finish as there was no other way to fully understand what Kevin was going through than to be by his side for the duration. We didn’t speak much at all. There was the odd ‘get out my way!’ from him but other than that for the vision to work the camera needed to remain a forgotten observer.

Of the two Skips we have filmed we’ve been lucky that it has stayed dry for the duration! As exhaustion kicked in, my concentration levels were tested. I kept running over a piece of advice my brother Steven gave me before I left, ‘just remember you’re a director first and foremost so direct it’. It may seem trivial but I completely understood what he meant. It was about always thinking about the film and the vision at all times. Keeping these thoughts in mind allowed me to react naturally to what was unfolding, yet create sequences around what was happening and keep focused on the bigger picture. Kevin and I have built up a relationship over the years that allows him to trust me. Although we discuss the work and the film, it very much is the case that Kevin does his thing as an artist and I do mine as a filmmaker. We’re both tied to this object and to each other which can become claustrophobic after so long.

It still baffles me that Kevin will do these works and they are just destroyed in hours, often with no documentation of their existence, so I felt compelled and pressured to deliver an authentic representation of the works. I had compiled the footage we'd gathered so far into a feature film documentary based on Kevin and his work but decided that may be something for further down the line, we shall see!

Skip 14. Cologne, Germany.

Below is a few exclusive conversations captured during our time filming together.

Kevin Harman, Skip 14. Koln, Germany 2013.

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