The Splice: Oliver Pietsch

Berlin-based Oliver Pietsch (b.1972) has throughout his practice employed jewels of cinema as his artistic materials, gleaning clips from famous films to create distorted narratives. At London gallery Nettie Horn on Hackney’s Vyner Street, Pietsch creates home-theater environments complete with bean-bag chairs and pure darkness, a sort of stoner den that prompts the dissipation of time and space. Pietsch’s work seems to cater to the ADD generation; his eye never rests on one clip for more than half a minute, yet instead of appearing as jumpy and disorderly, his films imbue a sense of calm tension. In his epic 2010 video “From Here to Eternity,” he studies death and the historically cinematic representation of it. The film progresses in three chapters: death of the body, fear or anticipation of death, and finally post-mortem life. Images from obscure early films are complemented by Hollywood blockbusters and range from suspenseful to gory, creating a viewing experience characterized by contemplation, anticipation, and memory stimulation. Though deeply aware of the risk of employing popular imagery as his source material, Pietsch is emerging as a master of the splice, revisiting choice moments of cinematic history to communicate poignant social and psychological commentary.

A still from “Maybe Not” (2005).

View Pietsch’s 40 minute video “From Here to Eternity” in its entirety (a rarity for art videos!) as well as other works on Nettie Horn‘s website.

A still from “Because” (2008)