Sophie
Clements

‘A Future Past – Kraftwerk Uncovered’
Excerpt of ‘Heimcomputer’ (film for live performance)

A recomposition of Kraftwerk music, by J. Peter Schwalm
Performed live by the contemporary music ensemble Icebreaker

Film by Sophie Clements and Toby Cornish
Black and White 16mm + 8mm

Commissioned by the Science Museum

Filmed almost entirely in the Ruhrgebeit (Germany), the district from which Kraftwerk famously come, the film makes direct reference to Kraftwerk’s heritage, setting the scene for a picture of Germany at the time of early Kraftwerk, whilst at the same time touching upon themes ever-present in Kraftwerk’s legendary visuals – technological progress, and man’s relation to it. A purposeful departure from the high-tech graphics of the current Kraftwerk shows, Clements and Cornish reference an earlier era of technological and industrial innovation, and the experimental or avant-garde film and sound work that came as a result, presenting at the same time a nostalgic vision of a ‘future’ now passed, and a modern reworking of a lost utopian dream.