Adam Frelin

The Fence Thief

single-channel video
2-minute and 11-minute versions
2007

Having recently moved to upstate New York at this point, I met a man who is both a dancer and an arborist. Drawing off his particular skill set we shot a short, fairy tale-like film that resulted in the making of a large outdoor sculpture. In the story an arborist steals a painted fence from someone's yard, then drives it to a hidden location. Cutting the fence into pieces, he backpacks the comically-large bundle of boards into the forest. Finding a fittingly tall tree, he uses the wood to create a color-coded ladder up its side, eventually disappearing into the canopy.