Empire Line
- 1998
- video and slide installation
- silent
- dimensions variable
- screen size W 1.2m x H 3m
Empire Line is comprised of a slide and a video element. The slide projection of a larger-than-life image of a dress fills a suspended silk screen, seemingly hovering in the darkness. The dress is composed of approximately 900 tea bags. A video is rear-projected into the image of the dress (projection area approx. 20 cm x 10 cm).
The video shows an action repeated over and over: initially, the frame is filled with the image of a body of water. A woman wearing the dress enters the frame, slowly wading into the shallow water. She progresses until she lowers herself into the water and immerses herself and the dress fully. The video is looped so that she is caught in a never-ending cycle of cleansing and staining. Coinciding with the length of the video loop, the slide projection of the dress fades from an image of the steeped dress to one of the pristine, white dress.
The dress features a waistline known as Empire Line. This particular style of dress first became fashionable in the early 19th century, a time during which the British colonial empire reached its height of power. The style of this high-waisted dress originated in post-revolutionary France, and represented a new sense of political freedom, its neo-classical style acknowledging the ideals and values of the Greek Republic.
The action performed in the video may appear to be a cleansing ritual, intended to wash away a moral stain. In this work however, cleansing and staining become one when the performer enters the water.