Toy Catalogue(1996)

John documents part of his extensive collection of cheap, miniature plastic toys by pouring out sorted bags containing them onto a table under the camera, then scattering them to form compositions of colours and textures, paying special attention to certain toys among the masses of them. With a normal shooting speed and in-camera editing, it moves at a fast pace and the toys pile up, but John pushes them aside, and soon makes room for more in the middle. In a recording made on sound film after shooting, or in a live narration, he describes each scene and tells stories to the toys, and sometimes creates “sound effects” with plastic.