Single-screen video installation

4′ 40″ looped DV on DVD

‘I believe that I am first and foremost a human being, like you, most anyway, that I must try to become one’

Nora in Act Three of Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House (1887)

 

The moving image  ‘A Doll’s House’ is inspired by the classic realist drama by Henrik Ibsen. The play is a portrayal of social and material aspiration, it explores the struggle to achieve and maintain a perfect life within society. Although the play focuses on crossing the boundaries constructed by society, it also explores the futility of trying to control one’s surroundings. The search for independence, particularly for women, is a central theme as is the struggle to conceal what lies behind the façade. These elements are inspired by Ibsen’s view of the Norwegian landscape:

‘Anyone who wishes to understand me fully must know Norway, the severe landscape…and the lonely shot off life’

Henrik Ibsen

Every winter, snow falls and covers the forest, the hills and the lakes; ski tracks and the snow covered trees form natural boundaries in the terrain. The moving image locates the viewer in an internalised position looking at a scene that on the surface appears tranquil. The work reflects the human conflicts present in the play through the evolving visual sequence and layered soundtrack. The images move from the open space of frozen lakes into the forest and from light to darker shades reflecting the dual serenity and hostility of the environment. The audio similarly reflects the change of emotions through the contrast of silence and the crescendo of skis slicing through snow.

 

A Small Wonders Commission by Picture This in collaboration with R O O M.