This is a short insight into the binding process in preparation for the performance. Interestingly, members of the audience believed this process to be part of the performance, which added another dimension to the concept being explored - who is the oppressor? Part of the stigma surrounding mental illness is such that the affected individual is believed to hold some responsibility to the development and progression of their illness, which in some way is reflected in the process of self binding in the footage. There are no other forces present in the frame, aside from my own hands. Yet, this is fiercely contrasted against the literary content of the performance; in the process of defining, who is it that is defining? Shrouded in ambiguity, it would seem as though outside perception has taken the role of oppressor; yet this footage could reveal that perhaps I myself am my own oppressor?
The very process of the camera observing the transformation myself as Francesca into the performer reflects a weird vulnerability. What is the role of the camera during this process? How is the camera implicated in my oppression? For me, the camera holds a symbolism in this particular documentation of footage that it does not in the filming of the performance in its entirety; the camera as the engaged eye.
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