Ștefan Constantinescu’s new film installation ‘On The Other Side’ continues his series of short films, ‘7 Shades of Love’, reflecting the polarities and dualisms experienced within intimate relationships. The work is a sequel to the film ‘Prologue’, which is also shown as part of the exhibition in reverse order, acting as the epilogue.

The split screen portrayal ‘On The Other Side’ contains two lovers locked behind French doors, presumably separating one from another. The man repeatedly attempts to enter, at first persuading the woman through encouraging tones, which later escalate to aggression. The shifts through conceivable threat and desperation to absurdity, mirror a relationship which links desire to power, as the woman is torn between her painful reactions and longing for connection.

The installation is set as a contrast of physical positions, and creates a staged scenario for viewers to encounter the disconnection each character faces. There is a distinctly disembodied aspect to the film. As viewers, we are able to see that the two shadows of malign movements will never be able to fully communicate, and their clouded pleading is met by an empty space they will never be able to access or see. The film’s rationale becomes heightened by these distinctions of separation and looped convulsion – especially as it enhances one’s inability to intervene or power to act.