The Beautiful Island (part 1), 2004. 6min. 58sec. b&w, stereo.
In the video The Beautiful Island (part 1) a seascape scene from the movie Gilda (USA 1945) is looped to become a tranquil image of the ocean and its endless rippling waves, interrupted only at the end by a sudden explosion. Here Krippendorff creates a visual connection between the Bikini Island’s atomic tests and the movie Gilda: the bomber that dropped the first nuclear test bomb was in fact nicknamed „Gilda“ after this film, and Rita Hayworth’s picture was painted on its side. The video visually quotes this historic event by recreating it using footage from the film that gave the event its name. A paradoxal and disturbing full circle is created, questioning media responsibility within war propaganda.
(excerpt from the press release for the show “The Beautiful Island”, M+R Fricke Gallery, 2005)
