I didn’t really managed to dream much for the past week so I will be referring to some old dreams for inspiration.
Unable To Escape
This particular dream remains in my mind simply because it felt so real. I remember waking up, feeling very disoriented, in the dark with only a blue light. I tried to leave my room but for some reason I was unable to do so as when I tried to, the dream would restart. I tried calling out to my family but I was unable to utter anything. My mouth would open but no words came out. I remember someone trying to saw off my leg as well and I could actually feel the pain. That was the most traumatising part.
I worked with the idea of being in crouched position to represent my traumatised state. The hand is my attempt to reach out and leave but being unable to so it becomes a continuos and futile action. I also focused on my leg to represent the pain I feel before it slowly dies down.
Bedsheets
This was a more recent dream that involved many things that I am unable to recall unfortunately. However, it ended with my mum suggesting that I replaced my current bedsheets with white bedsheets. Somehow, something felt really off and strangely sad at the same time but I could not figure out why.
I decided to work with a white table that is hard and laid it on to pretending it was a mattress.
Statements of meaning:
Char, I enjoy the red light and the sense of fragmentation in the first video produced through the angle of the camera. Your use of these angles demonstrates an understanding for the “rule of thirds” we talked about in class. The sparse use of sound in the video both creates a kind of aural framework to experience the video but also creates “space” because the viewer can experience the places in between the sounds. Good job.
Question for the artist:
What was your experience of making the sound as you were moving?
I have a suggestion about the use of sound in performance. If you would like to hear it, scroll down to the * at the bottom of this reply.
Second video
Statement of meaning:
The bird’s eye view gives a 2-d quality to the image where your body becomes a landscape.
I enjoyed the slow movement. Along with the bird’s eye view, it creates almost a voyeuristic quality for the audience.
Question for the artist:
What informed your choice to omit your face/head/legs in this shot?
What informed your choice for costume?
How many ways can you animate “disoriented” in your performance (physical gesture/vocal/camera angle/use of costume)?
What if you played with the edges of the screen?
What if you brought something into the shot that was a different color against the table?
This part of my reply is in regards to this video :https://vimeo.com/152461077?from=outro-embed.
Statements of Meaning:
I experienced this as a commentary on how female bodies in 3rd spaces are subjected to the viewer’s gaze. Well done.
Questions for the artist:
Could you talk more about what inspired you to make this video?
Were the bruises intentional? and if so, were they real?
*What would happen if you vocalized a sound to describe how you felt in the dream? What if you created a costume that made a sound every time your moved?