Anna Campbell
exhibited as a looping 2 channel video with the monitors framing and further distancing the dandies/ view an excerpt from the loop
Havisham [2007] is a two-channel video tableaux that seats two dandies at opposite ends of a long table piled with oversized wedding cakes. They appear fully prepared to engage in the spectacle of marriage, but much like the character from Great Expectations, find themselves frozen in place at what should be the location of their celebration. This piece is sympathetic to the drive for legally recognized partnerships; its melodramatic spectacle illustrates the alienation felt by two bachelors who are surrounded by symbols of marriage, but seem unable to ritually consummate their relationship. In contrast to the position of Dickens’ Havisham, these bachelors have not been waiting for decades at their banquet table, their cakes have not rotted, and neither has been left standing at the alter. In this sense, the dandies could as easily be on a wedding cake hunger strike, protesting an obsessive pursuit of marriage and its attendant assimilation.
Thanks for posting Anna. I haven’t had a chance to view your video, but will do so this weekend!
Cheers,
Susan
Hi again,
As I watched the video I tried to gauge whether the dandies were aware that they were at the table together. Certainly their sight-line is obscured by the huge pile of cakes, which at times they try to peer around. Based on your other work (from your website), this video seems unusual insofar as the characters are not engaged in a specific action or goal, though you identify their very inaction as a possible form of protest (hunger strike). But they seem to be waiting for something: validation? each other? an alternative scenario? I don’t know!
Yoon Cho’s video on this site offers another perspective on the assimilation of individuals into marriage. Vadis Turner also has an installation piece that deals with the spectacular traditions and rituals of marriage.
best,
s.