We begin in the air, a weightless gaze toward a mountained horizon. After some seconds, the camera descends, dropping beneath ground level, replacing the sky with a sheer face of pale earth. It settles, establishing a new ground. This movement is typical of Lucy Raven’s frequently drone-based camera throughout Ready Mix, the single-channel video which comprises the core of her presentation at the Dia Art Foundation’s newly renovated Chelsea location. Raven’s direction is rare in using a technology often relegated to establishing shots and information dumps to instead achieve an active, mobile frame composed at each moment with obvious intention, with care for harmonies of line and monochromatic shade, with an awareness of the signifying capacity of its ability to overcome gravity. These concerns are plain as the shot continues,…
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Cinema Scope (Digital) - 1 Issue, Issue 89 - Winter 2022