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ARTWORK DETAILS

Name: James Andre Santos	School:
Title: Nyctophobia	Medium: Video
Description: Art Video

ARTIST STATEMENT

Referencing Mater Tenebraum (Mother of Darkness) from Dario Argento’s Inferno, this film explores my childhood fear of the dark (nyctophobia). As a letter to my love of horror cinema, the visuals of this piece were inspired by scenes from my favourite films including: The Ring, Haunting on Hill House, and Suspiria. Representing my vulnerability in the dark, I utilize a red monochromic colour theme to create anxiety inducing imagery. To achieve a cinematic effect, I sourced royalty-free footage overlays of digital static and noise to create the film’s intense visual distortion.

ARTWORK PROCESS

work Nyctophobia, an art film depicting my fear of the dark. Inspired by the stylized visuals of Italian filmmaker, Dario Argento, this artwork’s is a direct reference to Mater Tenebrarum (Mother of Darkness), the antagonist of his 1980 giallo classic, Inferno. Agrento’s striking and bold colour palette is used to heighten the intensity of a scene’s atmosphere, generating a strong emotional response from viewers. Similarly, I position audiences to perceive the dark abyss as a threatening presence to reflect my own experience and vulnerability.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

James Andre Santos

I think that one of the most important skills to learn is how to express vulnerability through art. By exploring the concept of phobias, I explore my vulnerabilities in different aspects of my identity, from my childhood fear of the dark to my gender insecurities. Being a fan of horror movies since my youth, my body of work is greatly influenced by the anxiety-inducing visuals of the genre. When beginning a piece, I typically find inspiration for by watching horror films and basing my work on scenes or props that I visually or emotionally resonate with.