2015
Video
http://thecompleteworks.ca
http://justinstephenson.com
Artist Statement:
Fifteen years in the making, The Complete Works adapts the work of internationally acclaimed avant-garde poet bpNichol. From comic book detective stories and westerns to documentary and magic realism; from hand drawn animation to computer generated images, The Complete Works wrestles Nichol’s writing off the page and projects it on to the screen. It uses bpNichol’s poetic methods on Nichol himself to create a film that is subversive, entertaining and visually arresting. Since reading Gorg: A Detective Story in 1990, Justin Stephenson has wanted to make this film. The Complete Works is structured as a book of poems in which Stephenson marshals a considerable catalog of genres and techniques to bring bpNichol’s passion for language to the screen. (length: 41 mins)
Bio:
Justin Stephenson is an award-winning filmmaker and moving image designer. His latest film, The Complete Works, is based on renowned avant-garde author and poet, bpNichol. It was released in the fall of 2015 and is currently featuring in festivals around the world.Justin developed an interest in bpNichol early on while studying broadcasting and photographic arts. He continued with a graduate degree in communications and cultural studies, researching the relationship between avant-garde writing and digital recombinatory art – the remixing of different media materials.
Justin’s work focuses on materialities – the physical qualities of subjects and media. For example, the ink, paper and letterforms used in his title work for David Cronenberg’s A Dangerous Method, in which the narrative is staged against handwritten letters; or the Rorschach blood flows mixed with historical engravings used to examine the materiality of monsters in Eli Roth’s Hemlock Grove.
Developing concepts through process, Justin takes a hands-on approach with all aspects of production from the design, editing, and animation through to post production.
Aside from filmmaking and film title work, Justin also directs and designs sequences for television, commercials, interactive media, and live performance. He created the video design and projections for Fujuwara Dance Inventions’ production of Christian Bök’s Eunoia, and the animation design for the 2015 remounting of Robert Lepage’s Erwartung and Bluebeard’s Castle with The Canadian Opera Company.
Other notable film title works include Atom Egoyan’s Remember; Nathan Morlando’s Mean Dreams and Edwin Boyd; and David Cronenberg’s Maps to the Stars, and Cosmopolis.