This is the transcript of the caption track for Dan Guthrie's work Rotting Figure. It was written by Carefuffle Collective and Dan Guthrie to be a dialogue between an objective and a subjective captioner to reflect the wide range of voices that have been involved in the ongoing conversations about the Blackboy Clock in Stroud.
The work is five minutes long and timecodes are displayed in the format mm:ss:ff, which is two-digit minutes, seconds, and frames.
![A portrait TV screen sits against a black backdrop. On the screen, a CG figure, covered by black tarp and red tape, stands in a dimly lit space. Overlaid is the caption [unease slithers through cracks] in red text.](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.sanity.io%2Fimages%2Fwmz2gmwv%2Fproduction%2F5f7470350ec4185d62a5c9b1f97929f1e3212a82-1500x1000.png%3Fw%3D1500%26h%3D1000%26fit%3Dcrop%26auto%3Dformat&w=3840&q=75)
Installation view of the captioned version of Rotting Figure. Courtesy of Spike Island. Photography by Rob Harris.
00:05:07 -> 00:08:26
[airy hum]
00:10:07 -> 00:15:21
[unease slithers through cracks]
00:20:02 -> 00:24:02
[wood creaks, ongoing]
00:24:26 -> 00:28:25
[fibres screech, stretching]
00:00:44:11 -> 00:00:46:04
[a splintered crack]
00:00:47:27 -> 00:52:27
[black mass rotting beneath]
01:06:10 -> 01:10:22
[wood creaks, ongoing]
01:22:25 -> 01:26:24
[hushed vibrations]
01:27:24 -> 01:32:24
[unease slithers through cracks]
01:44:08 -> 01:46:17
[jagged rattle]
01:47:15 -> 01:52:14
[more rot coming, no doubt]
02:05:01 -> 02:09:20
[wood fibres strain, creaking]
02:11:22 -> 02:16:21
[who cares, watch it crumble]
02:23:00 -> 02:27:29
[taut plastic sheet groans]
02:37:20 -> 02:41:20
[wood creaks, ongoing]
02:46:24 -> 02:49:20
[jarring rattle falls cold]
03:00:18 -> 03:04:09
[severe crackling collapse]
03:04:24 -> 03:08:28
[it’s a goner by now]
03:20:14 -> 03:24:15
[limper timber moans]
03:25:06 -> 03:30:07
[eerily unnatural spectacle]
04:01:01 -> 04:03:09
[wood snaps, rattling]
04:03:22 -> 04:08:02
[fated collapse]
04:15:00 -> 04:17:39
[airy hum]
04:23:14 -> 04:28:04
[stillness]
04:36:06 -> 04:41:22
[an echo of meaningful destruction]
04:49:21 -> 04:55:01
[however unreal, yet satisfying]
Carefuffle is a disabled and queer-led working group rooted in the principles of care, interconnected, authorship and social justice. We are dedicated to celebrating disabled and queer talent, aiming to embed it into public, curatorial, and academic mindset. Our commitment to challenging the ableist narratives and socio-cultural exclusion comes from the belief in the wholeness of disability and access as a collective joy and shared responsibility towards a liberatory future .
Dan Guthrie is an artist and writer whose practice explores representations and mis-representations of Blackness, questioning not only what is shown, but what remains unseen. His latest project, Empty Alcove / Rotting Figure, was co-commissioned by Spike Island, Bristol and Chisenhale Gallery, London, and toured both venues in 2025, with the accompanying online platform earf.info publishing new writing by Guthrie and invited contributors throughout the year. His moving image work has been screened widely across the UK as well as internationally at film festivals such as IFFR, Prismatic Ground and Berlinale. From 2026 to 2027 he will be a resident artist at Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten, Amsterdam.