Catalogue > Un extrait vidéo au hasard

Firedive is a short documentary about La Vallette Bathing Pools on the east coast of the Island of Guernsey. The film describes the Island`s collective memory of the tidal pools, focusing on the floodlit swimming galas and `firedives` that once made the pools a central part of the local community. Bowditch?s mother relayed the almost mythical personal tales of her childhood, which inspired the film. Contributors include locals who all have their own complimentary and contrasting tales adding to the visual portrait presented of the pools. The narrators talk about the decline in usage of the pools before going on to describe the ritualistic ceremony of the torch light processions and ?firedives? that once took place. The film is not a recreation of events but rather documents Bowditch?s own experience and involvement in adding to the collective memory of the location. By staging a floodlit torchlight procession based on the tales and accounts of the inhabitants he adds to the islands history and represents it for a new generation. Production dialogue, filming equipment and crew are therefore included in the edit, showing it was an exploration based on intertwined memories rather than a factual straight re-enactment.

Tim Bowditch (b.1986 Guernsey, Channel Islands) graduated from the University of Portsmouth in 2008 with a BA Hons Degree is Photography. Bowditch moved from his childhood home of Guernsey to begin a career as a photographer in London in the Autmn of 2008. He has kept his ties with Guernsey by annually applying and receiving funding to make new work incorporating the Island in someway. The last two years have been spent working on a project entitled Firedive (submitted as a multimedia piece). Firedive saw Bowditch follow the current trend of the digital SLR film makers to shoot a short documentary about the about La Vallette Bathing Pools on the east coast of the Island. The film describes the Island`s collective memory of the pools, focusing on the floodlit swimming galas and `firedives` that once made the pools a central part of the local community. This year the film was premiered at a special open air screening at the pools accompanied by a swimming gala and torch light procession. Three Artists were invited to the Island to make work in response to the screening and gala. The third phase of the project is a proposed exhibition at the greenhouse gallery in Guernsey next Spring. I will curate an exhibition from the work made at the screening.