Still from a work by Miwa Matreyek (courtesy of the artist and Automata)

Peephole Cinema is a “miniature cinema” collective that organizes silent, experimental film and video screenings at locations in Los Angeles, Brooklyn, and San Francisco. Their LA programming takes place at Automata, a store-front arts space in Chinatown dedicated to experimental puppet theater, film, and performance.

Stacey Steers, “Edge of Alchemy” (2017), 1:25 minutes (courtesy of the artist and Automata)

This Thursday, for one night only, they’ll be hosting “Dissolving Sights II,” a presentation of projection-based works that combine film with live performance, installation, and physical objects. In the space’s front windows, visitors can see projection-based performances from Miwa Matreyek and Moira MacDonald, while inside they will find an array of works that incorporate elements of pre-cinema and expanded cinema, including shadow puppets, magic lantern animations, peepshows and more. Participating artists include Ramona Apthorp, Miranda Kahn, Benni Quintero, Susan Simpson, and others. The evening also marks the premiere of two new Peephole Cinema films: “Edge of Alchemy” by Stacey Steers and “Phosphene Phantasmagoria” by Charlotte Pryce, which will be on view 24/7 in the alley behind Automata for the rest of the year. Steers’ handmade film uses appropriated and collaged imagery to craft a surreal, female-centered retelling of Frankenstein, while Pryce created her dreamlike film by burying photographs of Victorian children’s lantern slides which she later dug up and reanimated.

When: Thursday, June 6, 8–10pm
Where: Automata (504 Chung King Court, Chinatown, Los Angeles)

More info at Automata.

Matt Stromberg is a freelance visual arts writer based in Los Angeles. In addition to Hyperallergic, he has contributed to the Los Angeles Times, CARLA, Apollo, ARTNews, and other publications.