Some of you may be familiar with Melissa Auf der Maur. Previously the bass player in Courtney Love’s band, Hole, then briefly poached by the Smashing Pumpkins, she went solo ten years ago. Her second solo album, Out Of Our Minds (OOOM), was released this month. Since going solo, Auf der Maur has been experimenting with a range of media, combining her artistic roots as a photographer and her experience as a rock musician in a multimedia project.

The title track of the new album is the inspiration behind her first concept film, OOOM. A 28 minute rush of images, dramatic music and narrative experimentation, OOOM is a fantastical tale set across three time periods with one core connection: blood. A visual journey that plays with ambiguous parallel worlds, the film brings together a Viking heart, a car crash and a bleeding forest that surge towards a haunting climax, in the mythological quest of A Hunt for the Heart. These seemingly disparate elements are linked by the central female character (played by Auf der Maur) and her car. We follow this woman’s strange ritual that climaxes in a collision between past and future. The beauty and melancholy of the forest are evocatively captured on film and an expressive soundtrack accompanies this imaginative mini-epic. However, it was clear that the music was the strongest element of the film.

An ambitious foray into film, Auf der Maur has also transformed the song OOOM into a comic book, which will appear later this year. At the London premiere of the screening at the ICA, the artist had only good things to say about the changes to new technology and the internet: it has offered a multimedia platform to express her talents. The film will continue to resurface in the form of episodic sequels in the near future.Trailer: http://ooomfilm.com/

PETRA KWAN