Unmaking or Redoing

Unmaking or Redoing is a video essay that tells the story of the artist being photographed by the police whilst walking down a street in east London. Referencing a “making of” style documentary video, the artist describes this event through a combination of voice over and filmed interactions between her and an actor. She tells us that she has cast this actor as a tour guide for a performance, which uses the very same story of the police photograph as its subject. Then the actor becomes the narrator for the second part of the film. He describes further developments on the police photograph of her and the 7/7 bombings in London. As the bombings alter the sociopolitical context the performance is cancelled. The artist responds by taking the film out of London and onto a bus tour around the outskirts of Vienna. This is to view the re-incarnation of the artwork into billboard images. Unmaking or Redoing is a series of traces, reconstructions, and remembered accounts that trace the fluctuating circumstances around the making of the film itself.