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Ocean of Oceans: Limbs

Sound by Lily Wolf

"...the you who is not you but is yet another you—challenges the premise of individual integrity; it also performs, it seems, a daemonic act of metamorphosis from inanimate to animate that in mythology often discloses divine operation." Marina Warner, Metamorphoses and Other Worlds

 

In the single-channel video Ocean of Oceans: Limbs, a figure in miniature doubles a large Silver-Suit character to emphasize the larger woman’s struggle using and understanding the mechanics of her limbs. We quickly see that the miniature figure has a more complex set of movements than those available to her larger self. The double is adept, sly, and unencumbered. The doppelganger raises her long arms and takes off into space. She cruises through the galaxy sans legs.

The paintings used as backdrops in the space section of Ocean of Oceans are by my grandfather, Burke Bradbury. Burke, an amateur astronomer, spent years hand-grinding the 18” lens for his homemade telescope. Through this telescope, he photographed the stars, moon, and planets. Also an amateur photographer, Burke developed the photos in his basement darkroom. Finally, he painted from these photographs full-color realizations of his view of outer space.