gender identity

While in residence at the Internet Archive, I came across Polly Gone, a 1988 computer animation by Shelley Lake (who was then the technical director of Digital Productions, a prominent 3D animation studio). In the video, a female robot -- whose severe, mechanistic design was inspired by Oskar Schlemmer's Triadic Ballet -- zips around a futuristic dome house doing various domestic chores, all while a horror movie soundtrack with synthesized beats plays in the background. Fascinated with how dystopian and surreal the animation seems in retrospect, I attempted to address the horror of the digital sublime in a modern day version: Here, Polly returns in 2017 to find herself awash in a sea of listicle titles. My soundtrack is based on Shelley Lake's soundtrack, which in turn was inspired by the soundtrack from The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951).

This site-specific audio-walk was developed for the exhibition “The Flaneur: From Impressionism to the Present” at the Kunstmuseum Bonn. Taking Edgar Allan Poe’s short story “The Man of the Crowd” as a starting point, it examines the topic of flanerie and presents four alternative characters from fine art and literature as female flaneuses. While listening to their stories, the participant is led through the area surrounding the museum.

“When we think of the woman in the crowd, walking among other people, does she ever turn around and look back? Suddenly having distinct features, a personality, an identity? What if she, in turn, was the flaneur, or rather the flaneuse? One that is not relegated to the periphery? One that has her own way, her own wishes and desires? Is it even possible to think of a figure that transcends this binary opposition of established gender norms?”

As foreigners, immigrants, urban nomads and women, how do we negotiate personal space and how is this influenced by the circumstances we live in? In an attempt to create an approximation to these questions and to the participants, a situation was dislocated and recreated from a place regarded as a typically feminine domain in India (and other countries): the beauty parlor.

The title is a reference to both the conversations that form the basis of the audio work, as well as to the performance that was enacted during the exhibition at 1Shanthi Road gallery, in which individual participants received a manicure from the artist.

The performance and accompanying audio work "parlor talk" were developed during the bangaloREsidency in Bangalore, India.

The image of the street comes up on the iPod screen. It appears that it has been shot in the exact location that you are standing in, almost as if it is in real time. A figure walks past on the video as another passes by in the real world, the two realities aligning. The sounds from the headphones are startlingly three- dimensional, further merging the two worlds in front of you. A female voice close behind you says: ‘I think we should get started. Walk with me…’

Canadian artists Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller returned to Edinburgh to make one of the mesmerising video walks for which they are acclaimed throughout the world. Following Cardiff’s voice and walking in her footsteps, you will be led through the backstreets of the Old Town, unravelling a disjointed tale – part game-playing, part surrealistic poetry, perhaps even a murder mystery – layered with history, invention and memories.

This work has was commissioned by the Fruitmarket and is now part of the Gallery’s permanent collection and will be restaged regularly. Acquired by the Fruitmarket with Art Fund support.

It was first presented in partnership with Edinburgh International Festival and in association with Edinburgh Art Festival from 25 July – 25 August 2019.

Supported by The Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller Commission Circle Royal Mile: Dasha Shenkman OBE, Nick Thomas Old Assembly: Melanie Reid Advocates: Sophie Crichton Stuart, Fiona and Kenny Cumming, Sarah and Gerard Griffin, Catherine Muirden and Werner Keschner, William Zachs and Martin Adam

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