Dead Her

void derry, 2018

From the Winter Series, curated by Mary Cremin

Dead Her is a short story, written by Sonia Shiel. Presented in a narrated video sequence of synchronised and interwoven audio-cum-visual punchlines, using animation, appropriated footage and a desktop cursor. In it the central protagonist is a woman, half-way through her life, who undergoes treatment to attain a fuller, more meaningful smile. She is confronted at each appointment by symmetry, promise, guilt, and rules - and by a younger man, who lives outside of them. Dead Her explores the pursuit of creative agency; authenticity, and living – with or without art.

Dead Her was originally developed as part of a series of stories written during a residency at UCD's Parity Studios, in collaboration with The School of English, Drama and Film, and was supported by The Arts Council Visual Artist Bursary. Installation Shot: Dead Her, at Void Gallery, Derry, UK, curated by Mary Cremin as part of the Winter Series 2018.