As time goes by was one of Sorin Vreme's works presented in the Black Out exhibition, opened on the 28th of January at the Punct gallery in Timisoara. The following were written as a result of a discussion with Sorin. The video that underwent several transformations before reaching its final form plays on two screens. The work is displayed in the gallery in such a manner that the viewer is forced to see the video staying very close to the screens, like an intruder. What the viewer can see are two characters eating, talking, making banal gestures in a cosy atmosphere, between familiar objects, for about 20 minutes, as long as it takes to have a meal. The things that matter are: the banal atmosphere, the couple in different forms (2 characters, 2 screens, 2 ways of approaching the work, the movements of the camera which is pushed from one character to the other), the travelling as a mean of describing the space as well as forming a sort of dialogue, the relationship between the work and the gallery space. The things that doesn't matter are: the faces of the characters, the words said (initially the work was supposed to be an interview connected to an event happened six years earlier, but in the final version the dialogue is impossible to understand, mixed with the nostalgic and corny music from the background - "As time goes by" from the soundtrack of the Casablanca movie). The true dialogue is the one described by the movements of the camera from one character to the other. This dialogue often becomes a monologue. Projected on the two screens, each of the characters appears face to face with him / herself, describing a story about loneliness, triviality and routine.

Maria Crista

English version: Maria Crista