Dezeen Magazine

Frozen "pee landscapes" feature in music video for Marle Thomson's Levitation

Music: audiovisual artist Kamiel Rongen used his own frozen urine to create visuals in the music video for Dutch musician Marle Thomson's debut track Levitation (+ movie).

Levitation by Marle Thomson

To create the video, Rongen recycled footage created for a project called Pure Gold – an installation comprising a row of five urinals along an Amsterdam street outside Mediamatic, the studio where he works.

Levitation by Marle Thomson

Each plumbing fixture was located beneath a video screen that played images of "pee landscapes" created using the frozen liquid.

Levitation by Marle Thomson

Thomson saw the installation at Mediamatic, so went inside and asked Rongen – who composes and directs under the moniker Hyde Park – to make the video for her.

The director cut clips of the urine block from the installation with shots of plants and colourful paint globules moving around in water.

Levitation by Marle Thomson

The oil-based paint creates hypnotic effects similar to those Rongen produced in his Shortcutz video – one of a series of clips called Waterballet.

Levitation by Marle Thomson

All of the filming took place inside a fish tank, and Rongen created the moving paint effects with his bare hands. He completed the film in just a couple of evenings.

Levitation by Marle Thomson

Rather than use a narrative for the video, Rongen simply chose to create visuals that went with the track after listening to it over and over.

Levitation by Marle Thomson

"I never make stories," said Rongen. "I play the song on repeat in the background and then try to make a surrounding that fits the audio, searching for colours, shadow, textures, movements and so on."

Levitation by Marle Thomson

"Marle's song is very small and vulnerable," he added. "I guess the video also has that feeling."

Levitation by Marle Thomson

Levitation – out now – is taken from Thomson's The Canopy EP, which will be released 26 February 2016.