Dash Cam Comp. - Fade to Black, 2022
The film navigates themes of obsession, fetishisation, and mortality, weaving them into a speculative narrative that interrogates both personal and collective fears. Through its unflinching engagement with the spectre of annihilation, it compels viewers to reflect on the precariousness of life and the social mechanisms we construct to mitigate our dread. Rather than offering a simplistic resolution, Ackhurst proposes a more subtle emergence of hope, one that is not separate from despair but intertwined with it.
What makes the film particularly resonant is its ability to blur the boundary between denial and belief, challenging the viewer’s tendency to project hope onto darkness without question. In doing so, it reveals how hope might flourish not in spite of our vulnerability, but because of it. It is this shared fragility that becomes fertile ground for resilience and optimism.
Technically and visually striking, the work incorporates digital animations that simulate the crumpling of car seats suspended in a void an unsettling yet strangely tender gesture reminiscent of video game physics. These digital fragments are juxtaposed with mechanical sounds, evoking the faltering ignition of combustion engine pistons. The effect is one of sparks both literal and metaphorical flickering in darkness, suggesting that even in our most dystopian imaginaries, we carry within us the potential for renewal.