Afro-Cosmonaut/Alien (White Noise)

2008- Stop Motion animation video.

Afro-Cosmonaut/Alien (White Noise) is an escapist video narrative that ends in destruction when the protagonist plummets back to earth. Like Icharus, the epic fall comes after approaching a brilliant zenith that is both mesmerizing and lethal. This white- faced Butoh inspired performance is a crude metaphor of the civil rights legacy. Taking cues from late 60’s experimental films, Pinder plants himself within his work and asks the viewer to watch the images of propulsion and power.

Utilizing time-lapse animation, White Noise consists of over 2,000 photographs. Each frame of this piece is an individual pose. All together they form a continuous flow of activity. The sequence, which happens in exaggerated time, draws attention to the physicality of the performance and the intensity of the images projected.

Inspired by science fiction and vintage NASA footage, these images are a re-envisioning of a turbulent experience.

Composed of over two thousand images the video is a time-lapsed escapist fantasy.