Set Theory I-IV
From the video Colour Bars (2004) onwards Simon Payne has made hard-edged, abstract, graphic video works that involve clashing colour-fields, bold transitions and highly structured frame-based sequences. They explore striking modes of cinematic abstraction in which separated planes of colour come together and disperse, and inexplicable motion effects preside over moving images. With different methods of shaping the reflected light of the projector, his work often shifts the viewer’s focus to the edges of the screen and the illuminated screening space. The videos span fifteen years' work, which have ploughed a focused furrow of experimentation with surprising variations.