Henry Coombes

Two Discs and a Zed

The title of Coombes’ new film refers to the name given to a particular Pictish symbol that has been interpreted as a representation of life and death; the here-and-now and the otherworld. The film presents two main sets: the National Galleries of Scotland in Edinburgh and a mountainous landscape somewhere in the Highlands. The first serves as the stage for the wanderings of a wolf, while the second hosts a caveman sculptor played by Coombes, along with a cavewoman who entombs his body in plaster. In both scenarios, things seem out of place: a savage creature in a museum and a self-conscious artist in the Iron Age. “Love is tender to impression at the surface, like a rock with deep moss upon it, but there is too much mass of love for it ever to be moved.” – Coombes’ sub-personality as the Pictish Man.