Future Past Perfect Pt. 04 (Stratus)

Conceived as the third part of the series under the name future past perfect, the short film introduces a narrative story that was inspired by a fascination for automation processes as well as his work on codes and grids that materialized in his record alva noto . unitxt in 2008. the series itself started in 2006 and is designed as a row of conceptually independent movies that document nicolai's focus of interest of the respective year of origin and also builds up on the results of the movie(s) before. a quiet autumn night in tokyo. a man stops his car at a shop front with a number of vending machines to get a last drink of tea on his way home. he inserts a coin, but instead of the usual procedure, the machine starts performing its own peculiar performance...

Conceived as the sixth installment of the multi-part series future past perfect, this short film is the result of a long-standing fascination with the famous cambodian white building, a large apartment complex in the center of phnom penh. nicolai's interest and motivation for the film project are rooted in his personal connection to the artist collective sa sa art projects who have also and continuously dealt with the housing complex in artistic ways. for the artist, the architecture of the white building is a prime example of a form adequate to its building materials and developed organically out of function.

In a short cinematic essay, the second part of the series of short movies called future past perfect illustrates the issue of the individual that is brought into line with a vertically organised social structure. shot at le corbusier's unité d'habitation in nantes (also called cité radieuse), the film concentrates on the modular system applied for the residential building which finds its expression down into the smallest details of design: doors, windows, taps, door handles, light switches, etc. constitute the inhabitants living space through their standardised forms. the cinematic result is a combination of consecutive sequences of single images and tracking shots of various details inside the apartments and on the hallways of the apartment block. thereby, both the different benchmarks of standardised production are correlated and the reciprocity of the built-up environment with the inhabitants individual appropriation are examined.

Conceived as part of the future past perfect series the seventh part is focused on the surfaces/structures of fluids. simular to pt.01 and pt.04 this short film explores the topic of micro and macro structures and was inspired by the mathematical theory of attractors. as the title already mentions the film was shoot in istanbul at the bosporus.

sononda is the first part of the short film series future past perfect and was originally recorded in 2006. the series whose single fragments are supposed to be parts of a larger scale film project is designed as a row of conceptually independent movies that document nicolai's focus of interest of the respective year of origin and also builds up on the results of the movie(s) before. despite sononda's visual quality seems artificial at times, it was shot in a natural environment. the focus is directed on the sculptural quality of light. the correspondence of both music - with its low frequency modulations and merging soundscapes - and light play on the curved surfaces of the sculptural stone formations create an ever-changing atmosphere of concrete and abstract appearances.