I am interested in questioning or researching: The existence of a collective psychosexual consciousness and/or subconscious memory. Incidents that inform identity. Menstruation/Blood Theory and how mother/daughter relationships change after menarche. How we are informed or misinformed by the institutional educational community. I have been creating short narrative vignettes that look at my own puberty and identity. Both drama and humor surround these events. I am interested in examining the rituals I created to deal with puberty; rituals centered on making sense of my bodily changes. I focus on worries, anxieties, and fears. I have been asking people to host puberty parties. The guests and the hosts supply stories of puberty, adolescence, and sexuality. The community shares stories either individually or in a group setting while being videotaped. The stories focus on events that have informed their identity. Space Initially, the viewer is drawn into the space by a video projection opposite the open doorway. As one enters the room, one encounters a suggested bathroom stall. The stall separates two videos from being viewed at the same time. While the videos are juxtaposed so as to view only one video at a time, the audio tracks of the two videos overlap. This intersect creates an audio dialogue between the two videos. The video projected opposite the doorway is shown in an open undefined space. The piece is made up of short personal vignettes that explore incidents that have informed my identity. The second video is installed in an enclosed space. The piece is shown on a small monitor inside of a suggested bathroom stall. This piece is more documentary and institutional in nature. Found footage of historical sex education is interspersed among interviews of women’s private stories on puberty and identity. Press play to view one of the ten stories. Below are stills from other stories.
Blood Breast and Other Strange Events
blood breast and Other Strange Events - 1
blood breast and Other Strange Events - 2
blood breast and Other Strange Events - 3
blood breast and Other Strange Events - 4
blood breast and Other Strange Events - 5