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The Yellow Wallpaper, October 2002
After reading Charlotte Perkins Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper, we produced our first video project together in response to the story. Written in the 1800's by a woman who suffered from post-partum depression and was administered the sleep cure by her psychiatrist husband, it's the tale of a new mother who is sedated and locked in a room by herself. The video presented two cyclically alternating scenes: a nightgown-clad woman creeping around and around on the floor against the walls, believing there was another woman trapped behind the wallpaper trying to get out; and an old baby carriage lit by a spotlight. This imagery was mixed with the sounds of waves crashing and crickets chirping. The movie was projected on a large gallery wall, augmented by the actual baby carriage and a book of stills from the video. |