70 x 96 x 24 inches

multimedia with sound and ambient projection

2009

The portrait of Brigitte Bardot is visually defined by the ambient luminescence from a bank of video monitors that are playing four films, in which she plays the starring role. These films run simultaneously through their individual durations. Their cumulative luminescence occupies a wall hanging box that provides the pictorial space for the work. The principle auditory experience is defined by the cacophony of the four soundtracks running together.

The sculpture contains a headset, which plays the audio from Albert Lewin's 1945 cinematic production of Oscar Wilde's novel. The video version of Dorian Gray presented is Audio Described for the Visually Impaired. It provides narration for all the actions and the events that take place in the film. While listening to the headset, the pictorial space, and luminescence therein, is transformed, creating an associative space for the viewer's mental images to take form.

The work creates a corollary between the fictional character of Dorian Grey and the fictionalized character of Brigitte Bardot through notions of aestheticism and idealized beauty (both physical and representational), the immortalization of portraiture, amorous excess, ugliness, veneer, and the double life that defines both characters portrayed in the work.

Video:

Installation Audio:

The Picture of Dorian Gray: Audio (for the visually impaired)