Margaret Rorison

During my residency at Lichtenberg Studios, I focused on the remnants of an industrial past. I was drawn to the formal elements of the landscape of Lichtenberg; in particular, the train yards and the Klingenberg Power plant in Rummelsburg. I was immediately drawn to the beauty and dominance of the smoke coming from the plant and it’s presence in the horizon at different points of the day. Around 7am, the sun would rise up behind the smoke stack, creating a beautiful backlit silhouette, while, as the sun set around 15:30, light would bounce against the churning smoke formations, sculpting new textures and forms.  During my stay, I would explore on my bike, filming various angles of the smoke and capturing how it interacted with detailed layers of the Lichtenberg landscape. I filmed with a 16mm hand cranked Bolex camera, mainly shooting hand held verité style. I shot with black and white negative stock, in addition to black and white reversal film, which I hand-processed.

Rorison

February, 2016