This piece is called Radiator. I have filmed a single shot of a radiator and displayed it in a loop on a wall mounted flat screen, parodying a dvd fireplace. A dvd fireplace uses a placebo effect, the orange and red flames prompt mental relations to heat and warmth. However, a radiator, which although we know produces a high level of heat, remains white and motionless, failing to achieve the possible comforting effect of its flickering step brother. Humour is created through the irony of the failure but also carried over in the kitsch aspects of the fireplace dvd. I mounted the screen at a low level, the height you would normally find a radiator and have not concealed the plugs as both these factors add to the suggestion that this could be a real product. Revealing the plugs also furthers the irony in the parody. The framing emphases the lack of motion as the smaller parts of the radiator are offered as some sort of alternative to vibrant flames.
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