2001, 16mm film loop installation
The first in a series of cinematic ship-in-a-bottles, Wrapped Around The Screw features a group of bottles left behind by a crew of sailors after a late night drinking session. Flickering in the bottles, like the remnants of their tall tales, is a ghostly fleet of Navy ships steaming home through a fierce gale. Also seen in the one-minute film loop are hints of Morse code signals, a man struggling underwater, and the spinning propellers of the ship.
This installation was commissioned by San Francisco Cinematheque for their program Sink Or Swim.