Julia Oldham
March 23, 2009
Balmy, 2008
Click here to view a short clip from Balmy, 2008 (1:09)
My work is an attempt to enter the mind of the bug. I translate invertebrates’ rituals into choreography that I perform, unpracticed, in front of the camera. During my engagement in these dances, a strange system emerges as I try to remember which movement to perform next. The dance begins to feel oddly intuitive, but never graceful, and the resulting videos are concerned with playful anthropomorphization. They are meditations on the fantasy that humans and invertebrates have a shared set of experiences, accessible through awkward, hybridized dance steps.
I’m really struck by your exploration of insect communication and ritual! It’s a provocative counterpoint to the “rituals” of human interaction that occur in both social networking and face-to-face encounters.
Hi Julia,
In anthropomorphizing insect behavior, do you hope that your viewers will come to empathize with the insects? Or learn something in turn, about ourselves (I’m thinking here of Isabella Rossellini’s delightfully educational videos, “Green Porno.”).?
Cheers,
Susan R
Hi Susan,
I love Isabella Rosellini’a Green Porno–those pieces are wonderful. I don’t have a specific educational goal while making these videos; however, I am definitely interested in providing a window into bug consciousness (even if that “consciousness” is really just my fantasy and interpretation of what’s happening in the invertebrate world). I hope that viewers have a sensual experience with the work as well–I hope that they are drawn in by the patterns and repetitive sounds, and imagine their own bodies engaging in insect rhythms. Thanks for your interest!
Julia,
It’s unanimous. Everyone loves your work! I find it fascinating and fun. What a way to make a girl think!
Seriously, your observational skills are acute and your interpretations are intense. Please take a look on this site at Shana Robbins new camouflage work. She, a tree. You, a bug.
Gosh, thanks for the kind words! I think my ideal would be for my viewer to start to imagine me as a creature that is partially insect without forgetting that I do indeed have a human body. I hope for a kind of tension between (1) the distancing effect of the strange movements and lack of eye contact from the performer, and (2) a luring effect of the sounds and rhythms and lush landscapes.
I do indeed find Shana’s video piece very interesting–and I think I’ll bring my thoughts over to her comment section.
Julia,
Thanks for the feedback on Axis Mundi! I was immediately drawn to your work when I saw it. I find it refreshing and exciting to be discovering other women artists who are working with nature as a performative space. I was wondering about your process: Do you move in these repetitive formations and rhythms for long periods of time (Are they in any way endurance pieces?) What are the physical effects on you? How do they make you feel?
I am happy to have found your work…
Hi Shana,
Yes, the performances are long and repetitive–although my finished videos are only about 1-2 minutes long, the performance is typically 20 minutes to an hour. I spend that time letting made-up movements evolve into other made-up movements, so that by the end of the shoot have a lot of different material to look at. The performances can be very physically painful, and I’m usually quite sore afterward. So in my footage, I’ll typically have a very different set of movements at the end of the tape that reflect my weariness. That endurance aspect definitely seems like an important part of my process, but it is not something that I’ve wanted to explore in the videos so far. Thanks so much for the thoughts about my work!