Polly One

In a small side room that is freely visible from the main gallery, visitors can look at Polly One. As in Condor(2019), the sky and the sun are the focus here. Although both works depict an eclipse of the sun, the aesthetic that defines this small projection Polly One is different. The sun is reduced to a thin crescent by the moon, but is nonetheless resplendent in bright matte colors, and the rapidly changing cloud formations continuously alter the picture. Over-exposure and light reflection occasionally give the film a red-orange color. The film was made in the small town of Saluda in North Carolina. On August 21, 2017, a total eclipse of the sun was observed in fourteen states from the northern west coast to the southern east coast. It became known as the ​“great American eclipse.” Everson titled his film for his grandmother, Bertha Everson, who died the day before the eclipse. 

16mm film transferred to HD video, color, silent, 6:12 min.

Courtesy the artist, trilobite-arts DAC, Charlottesville, Picture Palace Pictures, New York