“The palette has been diminished” … Grant Gee.
“All film prints carry their images on an emulsion made of organic gelatin – that is, crushed animal bones (selected breeds and herds are used for the purpose; in this respect, vegetarians should have switched from cinema to digital long ago). These remains are turned into a photographic layer, the semi-transparent skin of the film. Time leaves its traces on it: the emulsion eventually shrinks, fades, peels off, exudes humidity; dirt, blotches and scratches become part of its identity, just like human flesh. The very thought that our beloved may have a perfect, surgically clean and odourless body is an awful, icy nightmare of the soul. I want the sweat, I want the smell, and don’t mind bites and scratches every now and then.” … Paolo Cherchi Usai.