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Project Overview

MASS is a film by Nadeem Din-Gabisi that takes as a starting point the concept of ‘Black visual frequency’ coined by academic Tina Campt which, for the artist, translates as a place of home and belonging, seen and unseen. To ‘mass’ is to materialise, to become present. It is also an allusion to the idea of the ‘massive’ - a group of people connected by shared allegiances and bonds.

Focusing our attention on the invisible transmission of radio waves within the urban environment, MASS embodies an intangible ‘spirit’ or ‘signal’ that characterises various aspects of contemporary Black experience around which people identify and congregate. Featuring contributions from musician Coby Sey, artist-filmmaker Rhea Storr, and Director of Photography Shivani Hassard, and filmed on 16mm, 8mm and digital video, MASS gives poetic expression to this unseen spectrum of background signals and contrasts them with vivid depictions of a shared and intimate private space of sanctuary, solidarity and celebration.

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Read text by Steven Bode

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Read text by Nadeem Din-Gabisi

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Read text by David Kwaw Mensah

Project details

MASS

FVU Watch

19 May 2020 - 18 June 2020

MASS

E-Werk Freiburg, Germany

16 July 2020 - 19 November 2024

MASS

Fringe of Colour

29 August 2020 - 31 August 2020

MASS

Alchemy Film and Moving Image Festival

29 April 2021 - 3 May 2021

MASS

Alchemy Film and Moving Image Festival

30 April 2021 - 19 November 2024

MASS

Lyra Bristol Poetry Festival

30 April 2023 - 19 November 2024

More information

MASS by Nadeem Din-Gabisi was commissioned for Frequencies, a curatorial project initiated by Cynthia Silveira. Commissioned and produced by Film and Video Umbrella (Producer Leah McGurk) as part of FVU's Curatorial Practice Award. Supported by Arts Council England.

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Media

Stills in 4:3 (original) – Nadeem Din-Gabisi, MASS, 2020
Image Gallery

Stills in 4:3 (original) – Nadeem Din-Gabisi, MASS, 2020

Audio

FVU Frames, Full Interview: Nadeem Din-Gabisi by FVU

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Press

ÇINC | Sanctuaries Amidst Change with Nadeem Din-Gabisi

6 August 2020
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