Accommodations I
2017
In this piece, split-screen video allows me to create a composition in which two different visual experiences are placed into conversation. Bricks, rope, and my body are rearranged in each to explore narratives of accommodation in my lived experience. While I play tug-of-war with myself in one video, the other shows the view from the back of my head as I pull a growing stack of bricks up a hill. In both scenarios, it is clear that invisible actors are involved behind the scenes, making my efforts increasingly difficult and futile. This work experiments with strength and endurance practices, referencing similar exercises in the history of performance art. It is also an investigation of perceptions I have fielded related to my supposed weakness as a woman of small stature. Engaging in such actions creates a feeling of dissonance between perceptions surrounding my body type and my actions and simultaneously recognizes the absurdity of these perceptions.