Re-Thinking Film Through Re-Thinking Emulsion

How can film emulsion and film be rethought? How can it be reconsidered? And in relation to this how can we understand ‘what does it do’, ‘what can it do’ and ‘what can we do with it?’ Is there the potential for film to evolve, to give a sense of progression and development to move on to a space where the space of film emulsion as a place of encounter is able to be redefined and where the relationship of artists to the concept of film emulsion can shape the way in which film can move forward as an artistic and technological medium. This paper looks to Manuel De Landa’s notion of morphogenesis as a way to frame an understanding of film as a process of constant evolution, in which the terms of change are immanent to matter and in this case the material of emulsion itself. A physical setup where the form of matter self organizes, where it isn’t drawn, invented or preconceived it emerges out of a physical process. A process that acts as a way to question the standards and conventions of what is and has been considered analogue cinema.