Don’t Touch
I had the idea for this video a few years ago in 2009; it was one of those little projects that sits somewhere in the mind, waiting for an opportunity to come together, and find expression.
Later, when hearing the song, Don’t Touch! by composer David Power, who had extracted a few lines from the poem of that name by David Russell, I recognised the opportunity. David was eventually to record the song with Paul Cary Jones (baritone) and Ian Ryan (piano) before commissioning me to make a video for the work. Both song and poem leave space for interpretation; at the time, listening to the song and aligning it to my own interests, I thought to impose a connection with my coastal landscape through the animation which also includes a figure whom could be seen to pass through varying stages and states.
On reading the full poem which may be found in Russell’s pamphlet, An Ever River, 2018, I hope there is also a connection to the wider words.