Taking My Skin

Pucill, S. 2007. Taking My Skin. Toronto, Canada 12 Apr 2007

CreatorsPucill, S.
Description

16mm film which tracks a dialogue between the artist and her mother, exploring the pleasures of maternal embodiment as a model for a different kind of imagined spectatorship. Directed, written, produced, performed, shot and edited by Pucill. Won Marion MacMahon Award for best women's autobiographic experimental film at Toronto (April 2007). ‘Taking My Skin’ tracks a dialogue between Pucill and her mother. Their exchange ranges from narrating the filming process ‘in

the moment’ to relations in an earlier time – ‘how long do you think it takes for a child to become separate?’ Throughout the

journey film spaces continuously dissolve and collapse only to separate again. Sometimes the artist is behind the camera,

sometimes the mother, sometimes both simultaneously behind and in front, or neither. Both perform, film, and alternately

instruct, position and direct the other. Formally and thematically, the film is an exploration of closeness, of synching, and the

threat this poses to the self. The film touches lightly upon the pleasures of maternal embodiment as a model for a different kind

of imagined spectatorship, presenting a carefully staged experiment in the physical and ethical relationship between camera

and subject.

The filming process was integral to the film, eliding distinctions between filming and performing. Pucill and her mother, who had

never used a camera before, arranged the filming themselves. The use of synch sound and dialogue marked a significant

development in Pucill’s filmmaking process.

The film won the Marion MacMahon Award for best women's autobiographic experimental film at Images Festival of Film and

Video, Toronto (April 2007). Other festival screenings include Cork (2006), European Media Art Festival, Osnabruck, (28.04.07).

Gallery screenings include ‘Intervention’, Fieldgate Gallery, London (14.09.07 – 15.10.07); Millenium Film Workshop, New York,

(November 2006); 'Mother Cut', New Jersey University Gallery (forthcoming 2008, co-exhibitors include Mary Kelly and Mona

Hatoum); Greenwich Picture House (2007) as part of Pucill’s ‘Subjective Camera’ curation. The project won funding from ACE

(£10,000) and AHRC (£17,000). It is distributed by Lux, BFI, and distributors in Paris, Toronto and USA. Reviews include

Vertigo (Spring 07).

Year2007
Web address (URL)http://www.re-title.com/artists/sarah-pucill.asp

Related outputs

Interview with Nina Danino and Sarah Pucill
Pucill, S. and Danino, N. 2025. Forthcoming. Interview with Nina Danino and Sarah Pucill. in: Experimental narrative film and women’s practices at the London Film-maker’s Co-operative Lux Productions.

Narcissus' 2013, b/w photograph
Pucill, S. 2024. Narcissus' 2013, b/w photograph. in: Michael Petre (ed.) Mirror Mirror: the use of reflection in Contemporary Art London Thames and Hudson Ltd.

Backcomb (16mm col, 1995, 6min)
Pucill, S. 2024. Backcomb (16mm col, 1995, 6min).

"Untitled II from 'Stages of Mourning' (2004) and 'Double Exposure' (2023)
Pucill, S. 2024. "Untitled II from 'Stages of Mourning' (2004) and 'Double Exposure' (2023). in: Flora Dunster and Theo Gordon (ed.) Photography, a Queer History Ilex Press.

'Double Exposure' 16mm+Digital, col+bw, 27min, UK premiere of the film was at Danielle Arnaud Gallery, London, December 2023, with a Q+A with the writer and curator Helena Reckitt
Pucill, S. 2023. 'Double Exposure' 16mm+Digital, col+bw, 27min, UK premiere of the film was at Danielle Arnaud Gallery, London, December 2023, with a Q+A with the writer and curator Helena Reckitt.

'Double Exposure' 16mm+Digital, col+bw, 27min, 2023 premiere at the Frankfurt Experimental Film Festival
Pucill, S. 2023. 'Double Exposure' 16mm+Digital, col+bw, 27min, 2023 premiere at the Frankfurt Experimental Film Festival.

'Between Women, British Experimental filmmakers in 1990s' curated by Sarah Pucill and Karola Gramman at Frankfurt Experimental Film Festival Sept 2023.
Pucill, S. 2023. 'Between Women, British Experimental filmmakers in 1990s' curated by Sarah Pucill and Karola Gramman at Frankfurt Experimental Film Festival Sept 2023.

'Double Exposure' 16mm+Digital, col+bw, 27min, 2023
Pucill, S. 2023. 'Double Exposure' 16mm+Digital, col+bw, 27min, 2023.

'Phantom Rhapsody' (16mm,bw,18min,2010. And The Impossible Realised in a Magic Mirror: Clips from Magic Mirror (16mm, b/w , 2013-2023) plus film stills
Pucill, S. 2023. 'Phantom Rhapsody' (16mm,bw,18min,2010. And The Impossible Realised in a Magic Mirror: Clips from Magic Mirror (16mm, b/w , 2013-2023) plus film stills. Vortic Curated online exhibition 17 Apr - 09 Jul 2023

Podcast: Interview and discussion between Juliet Jacques and Sarah Pucill on Pucill's film Magic Mirror
Pucill, S. 2023. Podcast: Interview and discussion between Juliet Jacques and Sarah Pucill on Pucill's film Magic Mirror.

Screening of 'Magic Mirror ' (16mm, 75min, 2013) at Lexi Cinema, curated by Juliet Jacques
Pucill, S. 2022. Screening of 'Magic Mirror ' (16mm, 75min, 2013) at Lexi Cinema, curated by Juliet Jacques.

Confessions to the Mirror
Pucill, S. 2022. Confessions to the Mirror. Cobra Museum, Amstelveen, Netherlands Spring 2021 and then Kunsthal Museum Gallery, Rotterdam 2022 21 May - 28 Aug 2022

“Eruption, rupture, suture and disruption” A text by Sarah Pucill on two films by Sandra Lahire, “Arrows “(1984) and “Night dances” (1995)
Pucill, S. 2022. “Eruption, rupture, suture and disruption” A text by Sarah Pucill on two films by Sandra Lahire, “Arrows “(1984) and “Night dances” (1995). in: Maria Palacios Cruz and Charlotte Proctor (ed.) ‘Cahier’ booklet to accompany a screening at Courtisane Film Festival, April/May 2021

Online Masterclass as part of 'Photo Film' research group I gave a masterclass presentation of my two films on the writer and photographer Claude Cahun
Pucill, S. 2021. Online Masterclass as part of 'Photo Film' research group I gave a masterclass presentation of my two films on the writer and photographer Claude Cahun.

'Confessions to the Mirror' (16mm, col 68min 2016)
Pucill, S. 2021. 'Confessions to the Mirror' (16mm, col 68min 2016) . Cobra Museum, Amstelveen, Netherlands 13 Sep 2020 - 10 Jan 2021

A Dialogue with Claude Cahun: Between Writing, Photography and Film in Magic Mirror and Confessions to the Mirror
Pucill, S. 2021. A Dialogue with Claude Cahun: Between Writing, Photography and Film in Magic Mirror and Confessions to the Mirror. in: Knowles, K. and Schmid, M. (ed.) Cinematic Intermediality: Theory and Practice Edinburgh Edinburgh University Press. pp. 194-201

Confessions to the Mirror Staged in an Exhibition
Pucill, S. 2020. Confessions to the Mirror Staged in an Exhibition. Cobra Museum, Amstelveen, Netherlands 13 Sep 2020 - 10 Jan 2021

Jersey Premiere Screening of Confessions to the Mirror
Pucill, S. 2020. Jersey Premiere Screening of Confessions to the Mirror. Jersey, Channel Islands May 2020

Frankfurt Screening: Confessions to the Mirror
Pucill, S. 2020. Frankfurt Screening: Confessions to the Mirror. Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt 13 Feb - 24 May 2020

Ottawa Art Gallery Screening: Confessions to the Mirror
Pucill, S. 2019. Ottawa Art Gallery Screening: Confessions to the Mirror. Ottawa Municipal Art Gallery 14 Sep 2019 - 09 Feb 2020

Garden Self Portraits after Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore
Pucill, S. 2019. Garden Self Portraits after Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore. Ottawa Municipal Art Gallery 14 Sep 2019 - 09 Feb 2020

Dortmund / Cologne Women's International Film Festival Official Selection: Confessions to the Mirror
Pucill, S. 2019. Dortmund / Cologne Women's International Film Festival Official Selection: Confessions to the Mirror. Dortmund, Germany 08 - 14 Apr 2019

UCL Art Museum Screening: Confessions To The Mirror + Q+A with Maria Walsh
Pucill, S. 2018. UCL Art Museum Screening: Confessions To The Mirror + Q+A with Maria Walsh. Bloomsbury Studio, UCL, London 22 May 2018

Bagdam Lesbian Festival, Toulouse, France, screening of Confessions to the Mirror
Pucill, S. 2018. Bagdam Lesbian Festival, Toulouse, France, screening of Confessions to the Mirror . Toulouse, France 29 Mar - 14 Apr 2018

BEEF Bristol Screening: Confessions To The Mirror and Q+A with Vicky Smith
Pucill, S. 2018. BEEF Bristol Screening: Confessions To The Mirror and Q+A with Vicky Smith. Cube Microplex Cinema, Bristol 20 Feb 2018

Encounters of the Space Between: a Collaboration with Claude Cahun in Magic Mirror and Confessions to the Mirror
Pucill, S. 2018. Encounters of the Space Between: a Collaboration with Claude Cahun in Magic Mirror and Confessions to the Mirror. à la croisée des approches et des disciplines. Dialogue intercontinental. CNRS, Site Pouchet, 75017 Paris 25 - 26 Jun 2018

"Coming To Life" and Intermediality in the Tableaux Vivants of Magic Mirror and Confessions To The Mirror
Pucill, S. 2018. "Coming To Life" and Intermediality in the Tableaux Vivants of Magic Mirror and Confessions To The Mirror. in: Smith, V. and Hamlyn, N. (ed.) Experimental and Expanded Animation: New Perspectives and Practices Switzerland Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 231-255

White Cube, Bermondsey, London: Screening: Magic Mirror, Confessions To The Mirror
Pucill, S. 2017. White Cube, Bermondsey, London: Screening: Magic Mirror, Confessions To The Mirror. 28 Jun - 17 Sep 2017

Cinematek, Oslo: Screening of Confessions To The Mirror + Q+A Greg Pope
Pucill, S. 2017. Cinematek, Oslo: Screening of Confessions To The Mirror + Q+A Greg Pope. Cinemateket, Oslo 2010 - 2019

National Portrait Gallery: Screening of Confessions To The Mirror
Pucill, S. 2017. National Portrait Gallery: Screening of Confessions To The Mirror. National Portrait Gallery, London 09 Mar - 29 May 2017

Creteil International Women's Film Festival Official Selection: Confessions To The Mirror
Pucill, S. 2017. Creteil International Women's Film Festival Official Selection: Confessions To The Mirror. Maison des Arts, Place Salvador Allende, Creteil, Paris 10 - 19 Mar 2017

Alchemy Film Festival, Scotland Official Selection: Confessions To The Mirror (16mm, col, 68min, 2016)
Pucill, S. 2017. Alchemy Film Festival, Scotland Official Selection: Confessions To The Mirror (16mm, col, 68min, 2016). Heart of Hawick, Scottish Borders 02 - 06 Mar 2017

The Provocation of Intermediality in the Tableaux Vivants in Magic Mirror and Confessions To The Mirror
Pucill, S. 2017. The Provocation of Intermediality in the Tableaux Vivants in Magic Mirror and Confessions To The Mirror. Pratschke, K. (ed.) Photofilm: Sampling the Archive. GUGA (Centre of Architecture), in co-operation with the Metropolitan University, Budapest, Hungary. 19 Sep - 19 Nov 2017

BFI London Film Festival Premiere of Confessions To The Mirror (16mm col, 68min)
Pucill, S. 2016. BFI London Film Festival Premiere of Confessions To The Mirror (16mm col, 68min). BFI Southbank, London 05 - 16 Oct 2016

Confessions to the Mirror (16mm, col, 68min, 2016)
Pucill, S. 2016. Confessions to the Mirror (16mm, col, 68min, 2016). University of Westminster. https://doi.org/10.34737/qvq82

Confessions To The Mirror
Pucill, S. 2016. Confessions To The Mirror.

Alchemy Moving Image Art Festival, Official Selection
Pucill, S. 2015. Alchemy Moving Image Art Festival, Official Selection. Haiwick, Scotland

Roundtable Discussion: The Women of the London Filmmaker’s Co-op
Danino, N., Matthee, J., Novaczek, R., Pucill, S. and Syed, A. 2015. Roundtable Discussion: The Women of the London Filmmaker’s Co-op. The Moving Image Review & Art Journal (MIRAJ). 4 (1&2), pp. 164-179. https://doi.org/10.1386/miraj.4.1-2.164_1

Magic Mirror (exhibition)
Pucill, S. 2015. Magic Mirror (exhibition). The Nunnery Gallery, London 14 Apr - 14 Jun 2015

Magic Mirror
Pucill, S. 2013. Magic Mirror.

Phantom Rhapsody
Pucill, S. 2010. Phantom Rhapsody.

Fall in Frame
Pucill, S. 2009. Fall in Frame.

Blind Light (2007)
Pucill, S. 2007. Blind Light (2007). 66 East 4th Street, New York, NY 10003 01 Dec 2007

The 'Autoethnographic' in Chantal Akerman's News from Home, and an Analysis of Almost Out and Stages of Mourning
Pucill, S. 2006. The 'Autoethnographic' in Chantal Akerman's News from Home, and an Analysis of Almost Out and Stages of Mourning. in: Hatfield, J. (ed.) Experimental film and video: an anthology Eastleigh, UK John Libbey. pp. 83-92

Stages of Mourning
Pucill, S. 2006. Stages of Mourning. 66 East 4th Street, New York, NY 10003 18 Nov 2006

The Question of the Subject and the Autobiographic in Artists Moving Image Practice
Pucill, S., Hatfield, J. and Reynolds, L. 2004. The Question of the Subject and the Autobiographic in Artists Moving Image Practice. Filmwaves Magazine. 24 (2), pp. 5-9.

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