Grad Show 2009

Aoife Casey

My work has graduated toward an increased interest in gender representation over the past two years. I am interested in the idea of ‘gender socialization’ – how our environment, culturally/socially influences our own sense of gender as historically for so long “everything other than conventional masculinity or femininity was rendered pathological”. I question whether this notion has resonance today in our relationships. How do we account for the “techniques of self” we use in everyday life. I am interested in notions of male suppressed emotional attachment and questioning this disconnectedness in relation to intimate family and social relationships. Men's emotional dependency is discussed under the concept of power and control in my work, in conversations and objects engaging a space. Viewers’ participation in the piece is central to the installation, I hope to engage the viewer in a questioning of their own gender identity and its relationship to others.

Many ideas have influenced my work including the writings and films of feminist writer Marguerite Duras in particular the film Le Camion which is used in the piece. It is the tone and tempo of the scripted conversation that plays out that is of interest to me rather than the actual words. After creating a scripted dialogue with my father I had this script read in a controled and intimate installation miimicking the lighting in Le Camion along with extended deliberate silences and a feeling of uncomfortableness, the aim being to reinact the strained tension of communication between the role of father and daughter. The psycological and physical aspects relating to the Roman Room Technique also interest me and this informed my decision to have two separate rooms with a view from one to the other with no access.

The viewer enters the first larger room representitive of the male role. Atop the steps a wardrobe stands, specifically made for housing a mans wardrobe. To the left of the steps is an enlarged photo of stacked old chairs behind thick obscured glass. The chairs in this photo mirror the one in the next room which is a life-size toy like rocking chair with screenprinted imagery. The smaller room is abstract, playfull with clashing colours