Facsimile
Streams of people wander through, in and out of my sightline. I sense them. I hear in their chatter the echo of myself. I never was this woman. I am still the rock I was hewn from, and into such matter I will return in time. Frozen in this long moment, I will crumble away before I move.
My solid shadow. I stood still while tools carved me, while eyes interpreted my body. Now I breathe out and laugh, and slip away, bringing my nakedness with me.
We are part of it all by seeing it. We make it exist by being there, breathing in those same molecules from centuries before, adding the invisible patina of our day. We come to this place so that we can feel the past coexist in the present. It was always so, before this stone was excavated from its ancient sleep in the earth, and made into this woman, and in time each particle will be breathed away.
Facsimile is a ten minute moving image piece with sound, made during this covert artist residency at the V&A.
I have been unable to upload video onto this site, so stills and a link:
stills
http://www.eleanormacfarlane.com/apps/videos/videos/show/18849737-facsimile
