Fata Morgana

Tacita Dean has long been interested in optical phenomena. She has filmed solar eclipses, caught a green ray and depicted an imaginary “fata morgana” in her photogravure Quarantania, 2018. FATA MORGANA, named after the sorceress Morgan le Fay, is a mirage that beguiles one into seeing land or other illusions that are not there, also commonly known as “castles in the sky.” Recently working on another project in Utah, Dean noticed that land in the distance was changing shape, as were the trucks moving along a distant highway. Using the little 16mm she had in hand, she at last managed to film the elusive fata morgana. (Marian Goodman Gallery)

This film will be shown as part of the screening SHORT FILM PROGRAMME 1: MIRAGES.