Decorations of the Mind II, 2011
Video installation, two projections, wood structure, lights, various objects
Dimensions variable, as installed: 376 x 366 x 60 cm
exhibition view at Galerie Gregor Staiger, Zurich

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For her exhibition at Galerie Gregor Staiger in Zürich (28 May, 2011 – 9 July, 2011), artist SHANA MOULTON created a large sculptural installation looking like a shelving unit and upon which her latest installment, Whispering Pines, 10 was screened. The video projection transformed the sculptural display into an altar-like living room wall with a recessed fireplace and a flat screen.

Whispering Pines is an ongoing video series created by MOULTON in 2002 (this work has previously spawned nine episodes, along with related performances, videos, and gallery installations) in which she plays the role of Cynthia, both a fictional figure and the artist’s alter ego. Cynthia is a hypochondriac dreamer who resorts to the paraphernalia of esoteric instruments, alternative medicine, and natural cosmetics to escape the boredom of everyday routine. Cynthia’s home environment proves to be a magic and uncanny universe furnished with symbols and signs borrowed from art history, new-age philosophy, and advertising. Conveyed as naive and always on the verge of failure, Cynthia enacts the longings of the social individual for acceptance and wellbeing as well as the existential quest for the meaning of life.

Video editing and computer-generated animation are important stylistic components of MOULTON’s work. She works with multiple cross-fades and unusual projection surfaces, with which she interacts during her performances, thus melting her own figure with the projected video collages. And good news: you can watch some of the episodes of Whispering Pines here!