Ardenter (Seven sins / virtue project)

A year ago I stepped into a project that came to me over the virtual highway.
Seven Sins  / Seven Virtues.

"I am looking for 13 fellow artists from all over the world to work on a project on the seven sins and seven virtues. each artists will get a subject. (they are in closed envelops, it will be a surprise which one you'll get, for me as well). don't mind if you work with clay, paint, stuff, photography or music. as long as its creative and you feel up to it. the subject: re-interpret one of the seven sins/virtues replaced to the 21st century. PM me if you are interested. when all the works are finished i would like to arrange a 'tour du monde' of the works as an installation-expo."

I stepped in and got 'Gluttony'

I didn't want to go for the well known "over-indulgence and over-consumption of food, drink" but was more interested in "The Screwtape Letters," by C.S. Lewis.

C.S. Lewis describes delicacy as a desire to have things exactly our way. He gives the example of food having to be prepared just right, or in just the right amount, but it isn't limited to food. We might complain about unimportant defects in a product, the temperature in the room, or the color of a laundry basket. There is a certain amount of discomfort to be expected in life, but the Glutton will have none of it. Instead of becoming strong by suffering the minor inconveniences of life, the Glutton insists on being pampered. No one dares to point out how petty or foolish they are. In fact, some celebrities are praised for their excessive perfectionism, as though it were a virtue."

There was one man who I thought could pull that of perfectly.
I asked David Tomaloff if he was up for the task.
He sent me 'Ardenter', a brand new poem especially written for this project.

Ardenter
Strip my eyes of it, this sun, this want, this earth &still. Make my fingers to release, my mouth &lungs to desist; tell my legs they should cease to carry any further this aching bruise. Every morning I walk to the well, &every morning my cup runs over. Each night, I return to the vineyard to suck blood from its ample vines. How does one explain such a fire? When I breathe, I breathe; I do so to kill. When I take, I take, & do so to empty. These lambs of currency &how their pale spends like money in the barren backwoods of my need. When there is nothing left to burn, I will dig instead a hole. When there is nothing left to drink I will spill, then, the frozen sky. If morning should bare its body, I’ll strip it bare of skin. My eyes, the black of ships anchored just off the quiet shore. My arms, how each socket grows a jailer; how each &every finger is a skeleton key in wait.

+songs about redemption / the noise of mercury / falling on deafened ears

He delivered not only this poem, but also a marvelous recording. Meanwhile I made a track and had an idea of where I wanted to go with this as far as images were concerned...
 


On the internet I found a clip where a chef explained how to boil the perfect egg.
It was all I needed. Allrecipes.com gave me permission to use and re-edit the clip.

Done.
Because of health and other issues The Seven Sins / Seven Virtues project stand 'on hold' for the moment. When they re-open the project, this work will be a part of it, meanwhile I'm letting it free...


Words & Voice: David Tomaloff
Concept, editing & music: Swoon
Footage: Footage: 'How to make perfect hard boiled eggs' (Food wishes video recipes - Chef John) provided by allrecipes.com
'undercover investigation at Hy-line hatchery' (mercyforanimals.org)