Written on Wax
Janet Biggs, 2016
2-channel HD video installation with sound,
16 x 9 format
Running time: 5:35
Unique with 1AP
Video excerpt (Original is high definition)
Dual-channel video Written in Wax focuses on how memories are formed. The work documents Biggs' experience with a research study that utilized electric shocks to create new, negative memories that were later altered or erased. Modifying the process for her video, the artist received a jolt of electricity each time she was shown footage representing one of her earliest recollections of personal autonomy—an image of horse's hooves. The procedure gradually transformed this positive association to a negative one. Her loss of, and subsequent attempt to recover this, presents the viewer with an intimate look at the relationship between memory and identity.
Installation views (Click for larger
images)
Higher-resolution images.