blank space is left for the curious imagination to fill in and by 2034, (fate willing) this space will be occupied by my real 70 year old self. If I don’t make it then that blank space will continue the job it is doing now. This is my Dorian Gray that is not locked in an attic but to be viewed publicly. As a child I used to think that when someone reached a certain age they were like that for a very long time and just looked old, now I understand how subtle the changes are between decades, even between a year or two, and that if you think someone is 73 rather than 71 they can still be insulted that you thought they looked two years older. At IVAM I am showing Rock ‘n’ Roll 70 on wallpaper consisting of 6 other age progressed images of me, all done by forensic and age progression artists. They show examples of how I might look if I have cosmetic treatment or let my hair go white. Age is no barrier to vanity or to establishing your identity. Rembrandt is a huge influence on my practice in regards to time and aging, he makes you look in awe at his wrinkles, his lines, the skin losing it’s firmness. He makes age much more interesting and powerful than youth. I see all my self-portraits as being part of their own body of work exploring my own relationship to time. I won’t be taking a linear approach but skipping backwards and forwards through the years, being closer to how the mind works which is rarely ever in the present. Me: lets move on to the film works and as we have been discussing transformations and enacting, I want to discuss Bully 2010. Me: Bully is method acting class that re-enacts one man’s experience of being bullied. The film’s main character is James who was one of the participants for my feature film Self Made, which follows seven participants, who explore an aspect of themselves or a fictional character through method acting workshops and scripted drama. Bully was filmed before Self Made and not long after the auditions for the film, which is where I met James. James had wanted to play himself and certain aspects of his life including a moment when he was bullied. In the workshop he becomes the director of the actors. As well as tell his story through the other participants, he was asked to create his own ending. It is a powerful and cathartic experience for everyone involved, as he takes us on this journey that recreates the effects and repercussions of bullying moving from performance to documentary and dissolving the boundaries between him being a director, actor and human being. The idea of reality and fiction has fascinated me since the mid nineties where I first started exploring these polarities in The Unholy Three, 1995-96. A rarely seen piece which I am showing at IVAM. This is a 3 screen work. At the beginning of the film each screen is occupied by one person in their homes, going about an activity that feels private. The woman is taking photographs of herself on a polaroid camera (you could say she is taking selfies but the term was not invented at that point). One man is kicking a stuffed rag doll around and the second man is drinking tea from a large bucket. All participants were looking for a relationship so they are brought together in a public house, a situation which allows them to socialize with each other. The film is not scripted but a staged reality, I took my influences from dating programmes and drama and it is hard to tell if the film is fiction or a documentary. They met for the first time in the pub and everyone was asked to treat the scene as 14
Gillian Wearing
To see the actual publication please follow the link above