Static (S)

For seven minutes we hear the deafening racket of an invisible helicopter circling the Statue of Liberty on Liberty Island in New York harbour. Sometimes the camera moves in very close to the colossal monument, revealing corrosion and damage on the greenish, oxidized metal, then it draws back to take in larger sections of the statue. The rapidly passing city panorama forms an agitated background, revealing the architectural diversity of New York, the urban dimensions of space, breadth and height. Set off against the reddish-violet background, the statue is sharply outlined against a blurred skyline and we lose our sense of scale. Designed to be seen from a distance, the statue looks very different in close-up and at eye level. The unstable helicopter functions as a camera tripod. The rotating shots undermine the static solidity of this symbol of liberty in the New World, so that it appears divorced from its surroundings and performs a balancing act in the circling camera eye and in the viewer’s perception.