From the Pole to the Equator

The title Dal polo allequatore was first used by the pioneering documentary maker Luca Comerio for a compilation film of 1925 it was used again by Yervant Gianikian and Angela Ricci Lucchi for their film of 1985 Much of the original has been reworked the found footage has been reshot slowed down tinted and reedited with a sound track of minimalist composition As a result the exotica of colonial travel and sport take on new and sinister meanings The acts of violence especially those of hunting recur in patterns that suggest visually that war is a logical development A close examination of the work starting with the opening sequence of a railway journey explores the centrality of questions of memory and history to this remarkable and influential film