MOLLIE McKINLEY STUDIO

SUN THRESHOLD/FIRE MAGIC

PROJECT STATEMENT

 

Directed and Produced by Mollie McKinley, Starring Ben Carver and Mollie McKinley

HD Video, ORT 17:00 min.

This performative video piece was created based on the imagery of the Sun Tarot card, shamanic ritual, Japanese ritual and eastern philosophy, Taoism, Hindu theology, and the intersection of mysticism and existentialism. The intention was to create a video-recorded performance wherein the performers work improvisationally and intuitively to create movement that marries ideologies of existentialism and mysticism, creating a sacred space that destroys the boundaries between human ego and nature.

The performance takes place in a deer blind used for hunting within a remote field; we face out of the open side of the blind, the opposite of how the structure is traditionally used. The symbolism of visibility rather than invisibility is essential in this choice, also reflecting the unveiled nature of the sun’s light upon objects and as a metaphor for openness between the male and female. The result of these symbols, and the synergies between the performers, is evocative, erotic, and playful. Desire is called into being, and the presence of Eros is palpable.

The piece presented is approximately 17 minutes, from a total performance length of approximately two and a half hours. The video ends when the sun begins to set and the evening descends. Peggy Lee’s “Fever” has been altered and remixed and added to the soundscape. The long version of the video also includes distorted versions of contemporary R&B songs.

Shot in Appalachia at the Harold Arts, Chesterhill, Ohio, 2011.