Reimagining a short documentary for the gallery
Lehtomaa, Jonna (2025)
2025
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2025060921839
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2025060921839
Tiivistelmä
This thesis explores how a short documentary was transformed into a moving image installation for a gallery space. The aim was to expand the documentary’s narrative potential by adapting it into a spatial, non-linear format. The project brings together filmmaking and fine art practices and was carried out as a practice-based study.
The written component supports the practical work by examining the historical transition of moving image from cinema to the gallery. It outlines three key phases in this development: the phenomenological and performative phase, the sculptural phase, and the current phase of cinematic, spatial projection that emphasizes viewer participation and fragmented narrative structures.
Thematically, the installation focuses on how street performance can reshape urban space, fostering moments of social interaction and a temporary sense of community. Theoretical frameworks such as Henri Lefebvre’s theory of the production of space and performance theory provided a conceptual basis for the installation, supporting its investigation into spatial transformation, bodily presence, and viewer participation.
The resulting installation reconfigures linear documentary footage into a spatial, multi-sensory experience. Findings highlight both the potential and challenges of adapting film for the gallery context. The project offers new perspectives on how documentary material can be expanded through installation, raising further questions about spatial storytelling and the viewer’s role in constructing meaning.
The written component supports the practical work by examining the historical transition of moving image from cinema to the gallery. It outlines three key phases in this development: the phenomenological and performative phase, the sculptural phase, and the current phase of cinematic, spatial projection that emphasizes viewer participation and fragmented narrative structures.
Thematically, the installation focuses on how street performance can reshape urban space, fostering moments of social interaction and a temporary sense of community. Theoretical frameworks such as Henri Lefebvre’s theory of the production of space and performance theory provided a conceptual basis for the installation, supporting its investigation into spatial transformation, bodily presence, and viewer participation.
The resulting installation reconfigures linear documentary footage into a spatial, multi-sensory experience. Findings highlight both the potential and challenges of adapting film for the gallery context. The project offers new perspectives on how documentary material can be expanded through installation, raising further questions about spatial storytelling and the viewer’s role in constructing meaning.