Overview

"Tacita Dean’s JG is inspired by her correspondence with Ballard regarding connections between his short story 'The Voices of Time' (1960) and Robert Smithson’s iconic earthwork and film SPIRAL JETTY (both works, 1970). JG is a 35mm anamorphic film shot on location in the saline landscapes of Utah and central California using Dean’s recently developed and patented system of aperture gate masking. An unprecedented departure from her previous 16mm films, JG tries to respond to Ballard’s challenge – posed to her shortly before he died – that Dean should 'treat the Spiral Jetty as a mystery her film would solve.' " - Anthology Film Archives