2016
4K UHD video, 16:9, 7 min, loop
soundscape by Sara Lenzi
installation: projection, tilted screen
The film »Upper« depicts medieval towers of the Italian city, San Gimignano, dubbed the Medieval Manhattan. San Gimignano was an important trading center in the 13th and 14th centuries. The fortified towers in San Gimignano however, were not used for defense but rather as a way for the rich Tuscan families to boast their wealth and power in its height. The ultra-high definition images of the towers are shot with intense blue skies – detached from the site’s spatial structure. A dense, high frequency soundscape of non-local crickets narrates the towers of San Gimignano as the origin of today’s global high-rise architecture. In this respect, »Upper« serves as a historical echo to »The Tallest« (2014).
