Robert Frankle

Description

In action, the letters 'NO' suggest a richly coloured and persistent explosion of 'No's. From a calm start, to a full on explosion, a moment of crisis arrives, resulting in a calamitous destruction putting an end to the 'NO's. The animation finally concludes though in a cautious rescue or perhaps a resolute rebirth. Even so, the 'story' as it is remains ambiguous. It remains open purposely in order to allow each viewer to identify with its content in their own way, according to their own personal history.

Why are the letters "no"? Why not "yes" or "maybe"? What does this mean? The whims of a child for example? Why are the "NO"s destroyed? Why are they "reborn"? Why in the end do they float away into the air? The story is caught between sense and nonsense. Is it sincere, cynical, personal, or merely absurd?

The work makes use of letters and colour to convey its message rather than using classic narrative forms or abstract shapes.

The name of the work "ON" is a word game, "ON" being the inverse of "NO".