Gaze I + II + III / Film Installation
Gaze I
film installation
10 minutes looped, ruskin gallery, cambridge
2011
'Gaze I' explores the relationship between spectatorship, female sexuality, and the unconscious ways in which images shape our experience of looking. Examining the objectification of women and the representation of female desire, the work questions where, and whether, the line exists between woman as subject and woman as sexual object. Presented as a single-screen installation, the work invited viewers to enter a small dark room alone. Inside, a looping film depicted a woman shaving her pubic hair and masturbating in the intimacy of a bathroom. Rather than functioning as voyeurism, the piece sought to expose the viewer’s own position as observer and the cultural expectations brought to the act of looking. Following the viewing, audiences were invited to anonymously reflect on their experience. These responses became the foundation for the subsequent works, 'Gaze II' and 'Gaze III'.
Gaze II + III
cinema setting
22 and 33 minutes, ruskin gallery, cambridge
2011
Developed from the audience responses gathered during 'Gaze I', 'Gaze II' and 'Gaze III' continue the investigation into spectatorship, female sexuality, and the politics of representation. While Gaze I' was experienced privately, these two films were presented in a cinema setting, requiring audiences to watch collectively from beginning to end. By shifting the context of exhibition, the works examine how presentation itself shapes expectation, interpretation, and the dynamics of looking. Together, the trilogy investigates the tension between the female body as object and as subject, questioning ingrained patterns of spectatorship and the influence of media and patriarchal visual culture on our unconscious ways of seeing.
film installation
10 minutes looped, ruskin gallery, cambridge
2011
'Gaze I' explores the relationship between spectatorship, female sexuality, and the unconscious ways in which images shape our experience of looking. Examining the objectification of women and the representation of female desire, the work questions where, and whether, the line exists between woman as subject and woman as sexual object. Presented as a single-screen installation, the work invited viewers to enter a small dark room alone. Inside, a looping film depicted a woman shaving her pubic hair and masturbating in the intimacy of a bathroom. Rather than functioning as voyeurism, the piece sought to expose the viewer’s own position as observer and the cultural expectations brought to the act of looking. Following the viewing, audiences were invited to anonymously reflect on their experience. These responses became the foundation for the subsequent works, 'Gaze II' and 'Gaze III'.
Gaze II + III
cinema setting
22 and 33 minutes, ruskin gallery, cambridge
2011
Developed from the audience responses gathered during 'Gaze I', 'Gaze II' and 'Gaze III' continue the investigation into spectatorship, female sexuality, and the politics of representation. While Gaze I' was experienced privately, these two films were presented in a cinema setting, requiring audiences to watch collectively from beginning to end. By shifting the context of exhibition, the works examine how presentation itself shapes expectation, interpretation, and the dynamics of looking. Together, the trilogy investigates the tension between the female body as object and as subject, questioning ingrained patterns of spectatorship and the influence of media and patriarchal visual culture on our unconscious ways of seeing.