Synopsis

David Sylvian wanders through the stark landscape of Beachy Head, repeatedly pausing near the cliffs and beneath a large bird-shaped structure. He enters a strange wooden cabin, where an elderly woman in bed is later replaced by a younger woman after nightfall. Sheet music, drawings, a damaged trumpet, and a child holding a white cat add to the dreamlike atmosphere. Sylvian also appears as a reclining, life-size image on a board, blurring the boundary between the performer and the surrounding world.

Factoids & Trivia

• The video was filmed at Beachy Head in southern England, a location known for its dramatic cliffs and long association with suicides.

• Handwritten statements appear throughout the video. The text was supplied by music journalist Paul Morley and written onto the images in Sylvian's handwriting.

• Several details echo the visual language of "Red Guitar," including the reclining pose, the child with the white cat, and the transformation of a seemingly living figure into a flat image.

• The song was inspired in part by Pablo Picasso's 1937 painting "Guernica." Its lyrics also refer to Jean Cocteau's film "The Blood of a Poet" and Jean-Paul Sartre's novel "The Age of Reason."

• "The Ink in the Well" was recorded for Sylvian's 1984 debut solo album "Brilliant Trees." The track features Danny Thompson on double bass, Phil Palmer on guitar, Kenny Wheeler on flugelhorn, and Steve Jansen on drums.

• The video avoids a conventional narrative and instead combines symbolic objects, changing identities, and repeated gestures. The result is closer to a moving collage than a straightforward performance clip.

• The single's visual presentation extended beyond the video: its limited-edition sleeves used a cross-shaped foldout design and photographic imagery connected with the song's art-focused presentation.