Taking My Skin
Pucill, S. 2007. Taking My Skin. Toronto, Canada 12 Apr 2007
Pucill, S. 2007. Taking My Skin. Toronto, Canada 12 Apr 2007
| Creators | Pucill, 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). |
| Year | 2007 |
| Web address (URL) | http://www.re-title.com/artists/sarah-pucill.asp |