The saint, the priest, the bride & her sister

2019

Video Installation, 10m47s 

The work included two videos in dialogue with on another. It dealt with the idea of gender as embodied discursive construction, engaging what Munoz (1999) would describe as a disidentification strategy as a mode of feminist and queer resistance. One video was split across two images on a single large screen. It showed my sister in her bridal room putting on her wedding dress minutes before the ceremony. She is assisted by her bridesmaids who engage in a conversation perhaps typical of such an event. The video also features a figure of a saint. This was a gift from my sister, which I was instructed to ‘drown’ in a glass of water. This conformed to a ritual meant to bring the recipient good luck in meeting a future husband. This video is faced by three adjoining screens on the opposite side of the room across which a three-channel video of a performance is displayed. It shows the artist dressed in a transparent plastic octopus costume, moving along a beach, swimming in the sea, drinking water and urinating. Two of the three cameras are attached to the tentacles of the octopus. The other is held by the the artist’s sister, who features as the bride in the other video.