Simon Lee
Connecticut Bed & Breakfast
Kavi Gupta Gallery
Feb 1–March 1, 2008

By Alicia Eler

For an artist with a special interest in cameras, lights, shadows and vision, Simon Lee's newest video installation/film stills, Connecticut Bed & Breakfast (2007), makes sense. This series shares traces of his unforgettable projects, Bus Obscura and Tram Obscura, where the artist transformed the interiors of both a bus and a city tram, respectively, into giant camera obscuras. While this new project isn't nearly as exciting - or large-scale - the artist's playful use of light, shadow, grainy video and slow-moving jazz music create a rather, well, obscured video and stills.

In the 6-minute-and-30-second video, one must pay attention to every single slight, nuanced detail. Here's a quick run-down: Shadows pass over a bed positioned upright. A jazz drummer's silhouette appears against a white door. As Jim White's drum-heavy jazz tunes fade in, shadows of a couple interacting appear. Later on, this couple seems to be undressing, but viewers again see only shadows. What could be evening, or morning or any time of day passes over the bed - a bounty of slow-moving shadows of the couple, of the furniture in the room, of any number of actions. The video's grainy texture is most apparent when cast against the white bedroom door, and when the jazz drummer's hat-covered head makes its screen debut. In certain shots, light-filled projections of two film-noir-looking detectives standing next to one another appear. A little girl flashes on-screen too, but viewers never see more than her light imprint against the wall. And what's going on with this couple that, presumably, make love on the upright bed? At one point, the gentleman undresses the lady; other times, the shadows of their bodies fade in and out of the camera's watchful eye.

White's perfectly timed drum-infused soundtrack adds to this video's already ambiguous nature. Lee also does an amazing job of not ever letting the viewer see any human flesh; all the characters in this video are mere shadows, lending them an ethereal, dream-like nature. But even after watching this short video twice, it's difficult to tell what's actually going on - a positive aspect of this film and, potentially, a frustrating one. Lee's shadowy characters don't have the high-contrast imagery of a film noir—especially since this video is in-color - but Lee still invokes a sort of mystery. Toward the end of the video, however, viewers notice that the unidentified male character has a tie - or perhaps a noose - secured snuggly around his neck. Is he committing suicide? Did his wife kill him? The possibilities are endless.

After watching the enigmatic video, stepping out into the gallery filled with "scene" lambda print photos from the video is a relief. To actually see a split-second of the video's action here, in still-form, helps anyone who wants to fit this video into a narrative framework—sort of. In Connecticut Bed & Breakfast, Scene 1 shows a shadowy man's profile against the half-shadow-covered upright bed.

Connecticut Bed & Breakfast - Scene 1, 2007, c-print, 30 x 40
Image courtesy of Kavi Gupta Gallery, Chicago

Similarly, a wall-size shadow of a chair floats slowly in Scene 2. But in Scene 4, there's a gathering of characters and scenery. This montage-like photo layers the shadow of the man (now wearing glasses) against the upright bed, where two people seem to be making love. The giant white door opens, and on top of that a larger-than-life-size woman hovers. Behind the door one finds the same bed standing against a greenish wall—and a woman's shadow. Here, the couple sees portions of the shadowy video in retrospect.

Connecticut Bed & Breakfast - Scene 4, 2007, c-print, 30 x 40
Image courtesy of Kavi Gupta Gallery, Chicago

Because of all the ambiguities, shadows and straight-up mysteries in this video, those seeking an easy-to-read narrative video piece shouldn't bother. But for anyone who craves enigmas, grainy textures and mysterious relationships, Lee's video rises to the challenge.

Simon Lee, Connecticut Bed & Breakfast, Kavi Gupta Gallery, Feb. 1 – March 1, 2008.