skyfall
HD video 16:9, single channel, stereo, 4.00 min.
The video "skyfall" deals with the relationship between gravitational force and the human body. In its opening sequence the camera pans over a thick layer of cloud to the horizon. Suddenly the scenery starts to jump and jerk as gravity forces the viewer’s gaze downwards. Two attached bodies hurtle by in free fall towards the Earth, plummet unchecked through time and space, and gradually decelerate until there is only a few centimeters between them and the viewer with whom they seek direct eye contact. And now the fall changes into a weightless state of floating; the Earth’s gravitational force seems vanquished; the two bodies slowly rise again into the sky and recede into the distant haze. For man and machinery, overcoming the gravitational pull of the Earth is both the first requirement for space flight and its major hurdle. "skyfall" is based on a HALO (High Altitude Low Opening) jump that Michael Najjar took in June 2014 in the USA. He was the first artist to do so. In tandem Najjar jumped from a plane at minus 50 °C, and from a height of 10,000 m hurtling in a two-minute freefall at a speed of 300 km/h towards the surface of the Earth.