Exercises in Faith is a video installation in which, through video-recorded performances for the camera, I explore the relationship between the self and the world when it is shaped by violence and skepticism. It is comprised of the video Soil (2010), the installation Bird (2010) and the video Cut (2010) from the series Exercises in Faith.
In it, reflect on the human and inhuman that lurks in all of us. Shifting roles in my performance, I not only explore our vulnerability and our endurance, but also our capacity for destruction. I want to work with gestures that speak of the precarious, liminal situation of the body within the world, attempting to communicate, through forms, things that are difficult to fathom, like pain and violence. Time is imprinted materially in the objects through their transformation, as an image of their own memory and their own vulnerability. Time makes us vulnerable; it is what brings a catastrophe upon us and what allows for healing. Time leaves its marks on the world, as does violence.
Exercises in Faith can take several forms depending on the space. The video Soil and the video Cut are looped and can be projected or presented in monitors. The video Bird is to be installed running continuously on four CRT TV monitors. The monitors will be taken out of the cover, so that their circuitry is exposed, and will hang from the ceiling. This set up brings the reflection on violence beyond the image, and emphasizes the physicality of the work by involving the body of the spectator. Depending on the dimensions of the space, other videos from the series Exercises in Faith can be included.
These are the preferred technical requirements.
For the installation of the piece Bird:
-Four CRT (cathode ray tube) 13’ TV monitors, with RCA video inputs.
-Air line cable to support the TV monitors from the ceiling. Their length and distribution would be determined according to the space.
-Four DVD players.
For the rest of the videos (for 3 videos):
-3 projectors.
-3 DVD players or Mac Computers with Quick Time player.
-Speakers.
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