Still from'Silk' (2009) 16mm, 7mins15s, colour, silent

 

 

 

 

'Silk depicts the reeling of the Golden Orb Weaver a spider unique for the golden hue of the web it weaves. According to folklore the web is so strong that fishermen use it to catch fish in the indopacific isles: The web is thrown into water and unfurls catching prey. Silk is currently the subject of biomedical investigations because of its high tensile strength (stronger than steel of an equivalent diameter) and potential use as a biomaterial for example as scaffolds for tissue formation. The 16mm film moves between shots of the spider's fly infested lair, its body during the act of extrusion, and a hypnotic rotating prism on which the silk is gathered.