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DOORMAT
commissioned by Opera North and Nottingham’s Bonington Gallery as a response to Mozart’s ‘Don Giovanni’.  "To be tagged a "Don Giovanni" sort of implies that you would be different from most people in relationships, in the sense that you'd be perhaps a bit more selfish, a bit more, eh... willing to use people and this sort of thing. Be much more, you know, out for yourself" We see images of Opera North's latest version of Don Giovanni alongside interviews with real life Nottinghamshire people telling their stories of deplorable and ridiculous behaviour in intimate relationships. Comparing the high drama of opera with the 'high drama' we often invite or have thrust upon us in our ordinary lives. "I'm not sure, maybe this is what you call retribution after you get someone else's girl. I kind of laugh at the matter, but maybe, secretly you know, revenge has been taken. I'm not sure whether I should blame myself for that, for hating the person so much. But, em, that person died at the end in a car accident. And I cried for him, I'm not sure why. I hated him the guy, I hated her for doing that" My work in performance and video is very much about how people deal with things, and don't deal with things in their life - how we manage to get through trials and tribulations or our own extreme behaviour when we're on the edge. There is no let up with Don Giovanni's behaviour in Mozart's version of the Don Juan story. I wanted to capture this relentless aspect in "Doormat" with one story after another placed alongside the singers' heightened operatic gestures. "The first guy I lived with I'm sure he thought I was stupid! You always get an instinct, don't you, when to check in pockets. And whenever I've checked in pockets there was always something there, like her phone number. One day I found her measurements, like chest, waist, dress size, bra size. Maybe he wanted to buy her some clothing or something"  [] view the video (duration 16:50 / 26.5MB) [] |