Lisa Freeman, 'Approx 1 Second of a Sweet Kiss' Exhibition Film

In her new film, Approx Second of a Sweet Kiss (2023-24), Freeman draws on natural light’s influence on psychological positivity, patterns and focus. The film begins with an awakening, the soft vibration of a phone call in a room lit with the bright glow of summer sunshine. The call is answered by a young woman who relays her experience of a personal dilemma, and tells of how the artificial lights at home have been fizzing and flashing, a hint that an energy imbalance is affecting her luck and connectivity to others. As the woman opens the apartment’s balcony doors, the sound of a bustling city square fills the room and she immediately falls into a state of relaxation.

The installation of the film at Temple Bar Gallery + Studios draws links between the gallery’s site and architecture, and it's new format expands on its own internal narratives of sensitivity, synchronicity and feeling both overwhelmed by and set adrift from the world around us. The installation draws its audience from screen to screen through a rhythmic loop of scenarios. This motif has been used in previous works by Freeman to question how we might relive past events, or to convey the monotony of restricted living situations. In addition to repeating alternative scenes that split the flow of time, Freeman uses visual repetition to obscure what is taking place within the subconscious, within the film’s reality, or through out-of-body sensations.

Lisa Freeman’s recent exhibitions and screenings include: Hook, Spill, Cry Your Eyes Out, as part of Súitú, aemi Touring Programme, Ireland, Netherlands, Sweden (2023); Slipped, Fell and Smacked my Face off the Dance Floor, live site-specific performance, Naylor’s Cove, Bray Beach, with Mermaid Arts Centre, Bray (2022), Slipped, Fell…, video, aemi online (2022); Green Skies, A Double Rhythm, live site-specific performance, The Curragh, with Riverbank Arts Centre, Kildare (2019). Freeman’s work has also been shown in: Festival ECRÃ, Rio de Janeiro; RHA Gallery, Dublin; Somerset House, London; Prenzlauer Kunst Kollektiv, Berlin; Solas Nua, Washington DC. Her work is held in the Arts Council of Ireland Collection.

Approx 1 Second of a Sweet Kiss is commissioned by aemi and Sirius Art Centre, Cobh, and supported by Kildare County Council. It premiered at Cork International Film Festival (2023) and will be exhibited at Sirius Art Centre in summer 2024. TBG+S thanks EVA International for their technical support of this exhibition.

Film documentation by Jenny Brady, commissioned by Temple Bar Gallery + Studios and courtesy of Lisa Freeman.