Give (Work-in-progress) ©2005 Shown on a large LCD panel placed on the floor, Give addresses the complexities of self-protection, nurturing, and sexuality. The view presented is a recumbent woman seen from above, who slowly and sensually removes from her mouth what appears to be her entrails, and lays them upon her belly. The image of the woman regurgitating her own flesh is like the act of birth, as well as the act of giving sustenance from one’s own body. The artwork addresses the act of creating, or bringing forth, from the self. It is a reflection on the decision to make life, as well as upon the responsibility of giving of oneself to that life. Give explores the fearsome fragility of life, yet draws no conclusion. Rather, it shows the circular act of creation and destruction inherent in living. Give is also a return to a performative aspect of my work, after a several year hiatus in which I was firmly planted only behind the camera. |