A selection of stills from the video works of SJ.Ramir

Into Daylight (2009) DV, 16:9 anamorphic, 5 mins, single screen

Into Daylight uses geographical landscapes as metaphors, to explore the notion of metaphysical journeys made across landscapes within in the mind. Classic cinematic devices such as short vignettes and slow pans are used in combination with a lulling soundtrack, until a change in atmosphere occurs, and a lone ghost-like silhouette is revealed to be 'making passage' through the mountainous Pass.

Produced with the funding from the Screen Innovation Production Fund, a partnership between Creative New Zealand and the NZ Film Commssion.

The Passage (2009) 5 mins 53 secs, colour, DV, 4:3

In The Passage, a solitary, ghost-like figure moves through a barren and remote landscape, towards an unknown destination. Its journey is momentarily halted as it stumbles across an architectural structure. Upon a brief inspection, the figure rejects this symbol of human civilisation, to continue on its passage. Layers of audio distortion have been constructed, and with the addition of a ubiquitous howling wind, creates a feeling of isolation, and emptiness.

Produced with the funding from the Screen Innovation Production Fund, a partnership between Creative New Zealand and the NZ Film Commssion.

Our Voices Are Mute (2008) DV, 4:3, colour, 4 mins 42 secs

In Our Voices Are Mute, anonymous silhouettes move slowly through visually distorted landscapes, confronting symbolic images that challenge the viewer's idea of 'journeys'; what they are, and how they affect us.

Departure (2007) DV, 4:3, colour, 3 mins 28 secs

In his short video piece Departure, SJ.Ramir explores both emotional and geographical landscapes of isolation. Using visual distortion as a tool, and accompanied by uneasy soundtracks, Ramir creates a world where emptiness and mystery permeate from each frame...

Man Alone (2006) DV, 4:3, colour, 3 mins 50 secs

A lone, shapeless figure sets out on a journey. The mysterious spectre travels through a series of distorted, impressionistic landscapes to an unspecified destination. A sense of bleakness and isolation underscores the narrative.

Gulf Transmission (2006) DV, 4:3, colour, 4 mins 40 secs

In Gulf Transmission, video artist SJ.Ramir - through a series of moving images, transports us to a world of light and darkness; a world where external geographical landscapes take on a greater meaning, and become metaphors for a journey through internal landscapes of the soul...

Taupiri (2007) DV, 4:3, black and white, 2 mins 48 secs

Based on a still image taken during a foggy winters morning in 1992, Taupiri is an experimental piece, employing handmade filters to create a kaleidoscope perspective of a lone cabbage tree nestled in amongst the gravestones of Taupiri mountain - a sacred Maori burial ground in New Zealand.