Unspool

"In my performances I assume various iconic personae, creatures who are always situated as trapped, or on the edge of breaking down. They are not characters but personae, aspects of myself. I disappear as they emerge." (Anita Ponton)

The isolated figure of the lone female is central to Anita Ponton’s live performances that address such issues as violence, power and silence.

In Unspool (12’), the performer gradually emerges from underneath a heap of unspooled film in front of the screen, eventually returning to her original position. She responds to her video doppelgangers: the two fade into one another and appear to speak but are merely lip-synching. The words have been taken from old Hollywood movies (Rebecca, Sunset Boulevard, Vertigo, Dangerous Liaisons...) thence reworked into the soundtrack, all the time addressing the audience. The voices speak of discomfort, suicide and madness, threatening the live female. While referencing the film-noir genre, Unspool speaks about the appropriation of personae with aspects of being female and trapped in the image of femininity. This piece was nominated for Best Female Performance at the Dublin Fringe Festival, 2003. (Unspool will be presented in conjunction with the film and video program at 10:10 pm on Tuesday 11th October in Kinodvor.) Milijana Babić

Organisation: City of Women
In collaboration with: Galerija Kapelica; Kinodvor; KUD France Prešeren