Annabelle, Barbra, Becky, Alexis, Krystle, Ellen, Olive, Eve and Kirsten, not stumbling, sliding, sinking, falling or oblivious

source: vimeo

Annabelle, Barbra, Becky, Alexis, Krystle, Ellen, Olive, Eve and Kirsten, not stumbling, sliding, sinking, falling or oblivious / 2014
The relationship between mobility and women is intriguing and complex. In media such as cinema, television and fashion photography (and even in early Muybridge photography), the female subject can often be found lying down, sometimes sexually inviting, sometimes lethargic, and sometimes, as seen in a recent Marc Jacobs’ advert or in any of the countless TV crime serials, literally lifeless. Her immobility suggests a lack of energy, agency or power, or worse, personality. The inert female subject becomes a mannequin, inanimate, objectified and fetishised, and this demeaning representation suggests darker social forces at work. Annabelle, Barbra, Becky, Alexis, Krystle, Ellen, Olive, Eve and Kirsten, not stumbling, sliding, sinking falling or oblivious (2014) can be seen as the prologue to a new series of works that question contemporary social constructions of women, and to what extent notions of mobility play a role. The video piece references moments in cinematic history where a women’s mobility has been compromised for various reasons: to provide suspense, to bring about a character assassination, to satirise, to provide comedic relief, to silence a voice.