Mauve, Jim and John, 2021
Paul Maheke’s starting point for this film was in hauntology, folklore, and the body of myths and legends of Orford Ness, Suffolk. He was drawn to the story of alleged UFO sightings in nearby Rendlesham Forest during December 1980, which at the time was associated with the over-the-horizon radar station Cobra Mist on Orford Ness.
Experimenting with site-specific choreography, Maheke’s film Mauve, Jim and John creates a visual dialogue between alien intrusion from the sky and the military past of the site. The journey of the spacecraft from Rendlesham Forest to the Ness is re-told through the movement of two male bodies, referencing John Burroughs and Jim Penniston; two servicemen who reported their sighting of a mysterious craft in the sky. Maheke worked closely with dancer and choreographer Robert Bridger to develop a new score, where the sightings in Rendlesham and the unsettling landscape of the Ness form a backdrop to the film's queer romance.
Video: Paul Maheke, Mauve, Jim and John (2021). This video is also available to watch on Vimeo and YouTube, until 30 October 2021.
Mauve, Jim and John is best experienced with headphones on.
Credits –
A film by Paul Maheke
with Robert Bridger
Filmed & edited by Tilly Shiner
Camera operator: Simon Eaves
Sound design: Gus Collins - House of Noise
Commissioned by Artangel for Afterness. Presented in partnership with the National Trust. Supported by Artangel’s Guardian Angels. Artangel is generously supported using public funding by Arts Council England, and by the private patronage of The Artangel International Circle, Special Angels, and The Company of Angels.