James Nares Presents Slow-Motion Video Portraits at Paul Kasmin Gallery

James Nares exhibited a series of video portraits at Paul Kasmin Gallery in New York from March 3 to April 23, 2016. The works were created using a Fastec Troubleshooter camera capable of recording over 300 frames per second, producing extremely slow-motion videos displayed on HD screens. Subjects included filmmaker Jim Jarmusch, critic Amy Taubin, curator Douglas Crimp, and one of Nares's daughters named Jahanara. Each portrait features subtle movements—Jarmusch turning his head, Taubin transitioning from frown to smile, Crimp interlacing his fingers—with some videos lasting up to 20 minutes. The exhibition explores the tension between video's temporal nature and portraiture's traditional stillness, creating what the review describes as a "conceptual no-man's-land" between intimacy and voyeurism. The review references historical precedents including Andy Warhol's screen tests and Richard Avedon's celebrity portraits, while noting the camera's origins as a scientific instrument. Lighting was described as softly diffused with dark backgrounds, one using deep charcoal blue to contrast with Jarmusch's hair. The review argues the technological mediation ultimately distances viewers from subjects' humanity despite the close-up focus.