Site Recite (A Prologue) (1989) Videotape, colour, sound, 4:17 min
Hill transforms words and objects into an immediate sensory experience.
Gary Hill is one of the most influential figures in video art. In this subtle work, the camera eye ploughs the focal field, revealing bones, wings and scraps of writing before retreating inside the mouth of the narrator, a striking metaphor for the indivisibility of word, thought and image.
Conceived in response to claims made for the branching structures in interactive digital media that offer a 'this/that' choice, Site Recite exemplifies Hill's ongoing use of video technology as a means of modelling visual perception.
