In the Greek myth, Persephone’s annual descent into the Underworld not only signaled the onset of winter, but revealed a world that few mortals ever got to see and tell about. Philadelphia filmmaker Ted Knighton’s new video installation, “Six Plus Six,” interprets that myth both onscreen and in its physical aspects: It’s spread between two rooms at International House, each of which is closed off to the public half of the time.
“There’s something that really intrigued me about a picture that you could see only half of,” Knighton says. “You have to talk to someone to get the other half, or if you’re really dead set on seeing the whole picture, you have to work it out somehow, do something a bit difficult.”
“Six Plus Six” consists of two four-minute film loops that together tell the entire story. The elusive nature of the piece is consistent with Knighton’s work in film and graphic art, all of which seems to hide crucial information from the viewer.
“The idea of something that’s hidden always excites me and makes me more eager to see it,” he explains. “I like films or stories or paintings that have an element of mystery to them.”
