Michelle Deignan

Unmaking or Redoing
Single channel digital video, 11 mins 46 secs, 2005–2007.

'Unmaking or Redoing' follows the fluctuating circumstances around the making and exhibiting of an artwork.It tells the story of the artist being photographed by the police whilst innocently 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 socio-polictical 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.

click on images for QuickTime movie 3 minute excerpt from 'Unmaking or Redoing'. file size: 8 mb.