Vexed by Telcosystems

Netherlands (2012) - Spectrum Shorts

Telcosystems are an audiovisual trio from the Netherlands whose work is synonymous with spectacular, suggestive and - let’s not forget - loud merging of computer art and cinema. Their latest work Vexed took four years to complete. Inspired by the particle theory, Telcosystems create an unstable world where particles move at a speed faster than light.

Over the course of the film, their unpredictable and seemingly chaotic trajectories pose a challenge to the perception of the viewer: they inhabit spaces that at the same time resemble flat surfaces and volumes, their achromatic flickering turns into color, and as the film reaches its climax, cold digital textures start to get an organic feel. The changes can be traced even in the soundtrack, where the drones start to form a rhythm that fades away as soon as it appears. However, all the processes in Vexed contain a dose of ambiguity, and as soon as the patterns start to form, they dissolve into the digital primordial soup they originally came from.

The clever approach to the media and well thought-out structure make Vexed an audiovisual piece that is much more than an abstract parable about the hidden order behind chaos. Its visceral power poses many challenges to the perception of the viewer, using the uncertainties to emphasize the ambiguity and fragility in everything that surrounds us: from the particles that flicker on the cinema screen to the God’s particle in scientists’ pursuits.

By Mario Kozina