Playlist:

Films by female artists

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In this week's Playlist we feature a selection of videos by female artists on our site.


Sara Brannan, Sarah, 2013

In this work Sarah, takes works with with the lead female character from two more recent films Terminator & Terminator 2. The above process of re-editing has been repeated (but allowing the soundtrack to remain), and the videos are placed alongside one another and played simultaneously. This creates a dialogue between the two versions of the same character: a past and a present. The dialogue between them is serendipitous & uncanny. She communicates to herself over time, looking back on herself and into the future.

This is what feminism means to me, to be engaged in a dialogue between the past, present & future me. This leads me to question my role as a woman, mother, daughter, and artist. In my work film is used as a metaphor for the external forces (usually often derogatory), which define our gender and our behaviour.

Check out Sara Brannan's profile on Axisweb >


Dawn Woolley, Homo Bulla (cut to the measure of desire), 2011

Cut to the Measure of Desire is a series of performance installations that respond to feminism and spectatorship theories; the panopticon overseer and the resulting state of perpetual exhibitionism. Using the language of symbolism in Dutch Bordeeltjes painting I create scenes of excessive sexuality. Like the Flemish genre paintings, each gesture and prop is carefully chosen to symbolise promiscuity, commerce and desire. Reminiscent of the traditions of still-life painting and the tableau-vivant, I pose within the scene - an imperfect being concealed within a 2-dimensional idealised world. The aim to uphold the illusion of perfection is futile and the codes of desire crumble under the weight of the spectators gaze.

Check out Dawn Woolley's profile on Axisweb >


Alison J Carr, Woman As Image, 2009

An unlikely duet; using the appropriated imagery of Rita Hayworth performing ‘Put the Blame on Mame’ in Gilda and pairing it with her own performance; a song and dance number using a section of Laura Mulvey’s ‘Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema’ to the tune of ‘All That Jazz’. A love for the oeuvres of both women are enacted through the artist’s body. The word’s of Laura’s famous essay are used as a talisman to ward off the male gaze so that the artist can perform as a star in her own musical, on her own terms.

Check out Alison J Carr's profile on Axisweb >


Natalie Ramus, Made Up, 2016

I had been thinking about where we learn femininity and I remember as a teenager reading magazines like More magazine that gave tutorials on everything from how to wear your makeup to how to get and keep a boyfriend. I considered how this was now lost to the endless youtube tutorials- these have become the millennial's magazine. Initially the notion of the everyday person being in the picture opposed to the models of More magazine seems positive, but I can't help but see it as an encouragement to narcissistic behaviour. We are seeing ourselves through the lens and the screen more than ever. I performed the camera for just over 30 mins (the average time a woman spends putting make up on) putting lipstick on repeatedly. At first it looks normal, becomes quite sexual with the lipstick seeming quite phallic; it then goes on to become more obscene distorting the lips more and more.

Check out Natalie Ramus's profile on Axisweb >


More film and video works >