Dramaturgies of Hauntology - Dwelling (2019) - Collection of Five Short Films
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posted on 2021-03-24, 15:28 authored by Mary SteadmanDramaturgies of Hauntology encompasses two performances, The Strange Geometry of Time (2018) and Dwelling (2019), both of which aim to creatively activate theories of Hauntology and Spectrality, either through the haunted subject, placing the singularity of the self into doubt, or via explorations of ‘agency’ in places devoid of human existence, testing the implications of the uncanny in derelict locations.
This item contains a link to five short films as documentation of Dwelling. These were filmed in the derelict mansion Poltimore House in Devon over a four day period. The films were edited and incorporated into the live performance of Dwelling, which premiered at the Anglican Chapel, Arnos Vale Cemetery Bristol, 3rd October 2019.
The creative choice to project the films onto the walls of the Anglican Chapel was conceived through the idea that the ghost has agency, it calls to be remembered and occupies a space of loss.This notion was expanded through the device of ‘vocal looping’ as the key storytelling technique, which drew on the idea of the ‘eerie’ as ‘the failure of absence (Fisher 2016), voices insist on presence through a poetic multi-layering of stories. This conceptual construct is informed by a particular way of thinking about ghosts which goes beyond broad clichés and tropes of haunted houses, landscapes, horror and science fiction, whilst acknowledging ghosts as being inextricably linked to memory and place.
This item contains a link to five short films as documentation of Dwelling. These were filmed in the derelict mansion Poltimore House in Devon over a four day period. The films were edited and incorporated into the live performance of Dwelling, which premiered at the Anglican Chapel, Arnos Vale Cemetery Bristol, 3rd October 2019.
The creative choice to project the films onto the walls of the Anglican Chapel was conceived through the idea that the ghost has agency, it calls to be remembered and occupies a space of loss.This notion was expanded through the device of ‘vocal looping’ as the key storytelling technique, which drew on the idea of the ‘eerie’ as ‘the failure of absence (Fisher 2016), voices insist on presence through a poetic multi-layering of stories. This conceptual construct is informed by a particular way of thinking about ghosts which goes beyond broad clichés and tropes of haunted houses, landscapes, horror and science fiction, whilst acknowledging ghosts as being inextricably linked to memory and place.
Performers: Leeza Jessie, Xavier de Santos, Sofia Caley, Samuel de la Torre, and Alice Barton. The music on the films is composed in collaboration with singer/musician Helen Roberts, and performed by Helen Roberts.
Footage shot by Mary Steadman, Alice Barton and Samuel de la Torre.
Edited by Mary Steadman.
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