When watching Patrick Panetta’s films, their simplicity seems as banal as it is disturbing and hypnotic. Filmed off the computer screen, Panetta’s retro-constructivist photoshop files are organized in layers and animated by pressing the arrow buttons on the keyboard. A blue square moves up, a purple circle moves towards another purple circle, a red triangle approaches a black rectangle. Each film’s soundtrack represents what the artist was listening to on the radio when filming the moving shapes.
Not much is happening, each film’s outdated programming refers back to a time when Photoshop was the height of digital manipulation. Panetta’s films seem like ancient digital mantras foreshadowing current uncertainties such as FaceApp or Deepfakes.
