Zak Emerson has created a fascinatingly visceral video for electronica artist Ben Chatwin, using photography in such a stylised way it starts to resemble CGI. In fact, what we are watching is largely in-camera: a human figure that is largely hidden by the viscous liquid that covers them.

This alluring figure, suspended in mid-air, is dripping in a latex-like, black lava, an almost alien form emerging in a dark, mysterious world. As the body contorts and ripples so does the increasingly intense electronic sounds of artist Ben Chatwin. It’s an intense, immersive experience. 

Emerson has impressively wedded the hauntingly-acoustic sounds of Ben Chatwin with a powerful portrayal of birth, life and spirit.

ZAK EMERSON:

"I’ve no idea how Ben manages it, his tracks are really intimate, and also far reaching - like some kind of portrait of humanity itself. Or the soul. Some clever thing like that which reaches for you and grips tightly.
Is it the curious mix of natural and unnatural instrumentation? Classic and modern in the same instant. Narrative, yet it has none. Cinematic, even without pictures.

"I wanted the imagery to investigate themes Ben has been exploring in his music: the natural vs man-made, rural vs urban, spiritual vs tech. The music strongly makes me see imagery of this kind - primal textures like simple evolutionary development: glistening sea weed, rock, bone, delicate structures, oil, scratched urbanity etc. Ben also felt these were relevant and powerful images to use. I was way excited when he revealed these were the kinds of names he’d already chosen for tracks. The stars aligned.

"I wanted tell the abstracted story of birth and becoming – this seemed an intriguing way to take viewers on an odd but hopefully cinematic journey into Ben’s incredibly rich musical world of the most twisted darkness and the lightest poetic humanity."