Stereoscope

William Kentridge directed one of his favourite characters in Stereoscope. Soho is an isolated being alone with his dark moods. The figure reflects ever-changing human consciousness, evolving in a contradictory world where phone networks fail to connect people and ultimately allow no communication.

Kentridge uses photographic trickery to create the illusion of a three-dimensional image: he combines two images of an object from different points of view. The same structure helps to evoke the human being’s fragmented consciousness. This short film is in line with the rest of the South African artist’s subtle, committed work. Since the 1970s he has analysed conflicts and their consequences and, especially, apartheid.

Stereoscope was shown for the first time by the Pinault Collection in Lille during the 2008 “Passage du temps” (“Passage of Time”) exhibition at the Tri Postal.