When I leave my house in rural Nova Scotia, I often encounter black marks that twist and turn along the road, weaving their way through my community and daily route into the city. While many find this illegal activity annoying and disturbing, I’ve become increasingly intrigued by the form and intricacy of the marks left by a vehicle’s tires when they’re "squealed" in order to "lay a patch". Who makes these marks? How are they made, and what motivates the makers? What do these marks have to offer? Based primarily in rural Nova Scotia, Burning Rubber weaves a predominantly male car culture together with artists and the curiosity of outsiders, ultimately stimulating larger questions about identity, creativity, gender, freedom, and how we decide what is valued and given meaning as art.
Director | Ariella Pahlke |
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Rural car culture meets urban contemporary art in this amusing and absurd documentary by Ariella Pahlke. Burning Rubber contemplates the mundane and masculine urge to burn one’s tires on asphalt as a means of self-expression and community identity building, and the fascination this activity brings to both art enthusiasts and curators.
Dominique Léger
Head of the programming for FICFA
Rural car culture meets urban contemporary art in this amusing and absurd documentary by Ariella Pahlke. Burning Rubber contemplates the mundane and masculine urge to burn one’s tires on asphalt as a means of self-expression and community identity building, and the fascination this activity brings to both art enthusiasts and curators.
Dominique Léger
Head of the programming for FICFA
FR - Burning rubber
EN - Burning rubber