Babel to Abstraction

About this movie

An inventive exploration of the life and work of one of Asia's pioneers of Abstract Art - George Claessen. Born into a family of Eurasian Dutch Burghers in colonial Ceylon, Claessen's life spanned the twentieth century and entangled with many of its most compelling themes: colonialism, decolonisation, identity, migration, Cold War politics and the Artist's quest for Truth and Beauty amidst the existential Battle against Rejection that all creators face. Although legendary in his native land and lavishly praised by leading post-war European art critics including John Berger and George Besson, Claessen remains long neglected in his adopted country of Britain. For decades he was forced to pursue a lonely career as a humble company draughtsman while creating at night the prodigious body of work that is only now beginning to be recognised for its depth and intensity of vision. The film features a revealing interview with Claessen, aged 83, filmed by his daughter Esmeralda not long before his death in 1999. Intertwining this precious archive with a wealth of material - including innovative animation and reworkings of the 1934 documentary classic 'Song of Ceylon' - from colonial South Asia and post-war London, the film's heart is a dazzling showcase of vibrant abstract art. The film also includes extracts from letters, journals and readings of Claessen's poetry. George's remarkable life story and journey are amplified through interviews with his daughter Esmeralda, his biographer Shamil Wanigaratne and his friend the veteran experimental composer Frank Denyer. Denyer's music - live and recorded - provides a haunting and surprising soundtrack to the story of an artist who, for seven decades, struggled - often unrecognised - to produce what the Guardian's 1960s art critic GM Butcher called "precise renditions of that state of Being which is beyond Appearance".

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