How to Chop an Onion
2016
This dual channel video installation involves the dissection, reconstruction and loose re-enactment of “how-to” videos found online. Rather than a straightforward re-presentation of what I’ve learned from these tutorials, the completed works function to abstract, decontextualize and distill the gestures culled from found instructional videos. Combining original and internet-sourced footage, there is an effort not only to mimic but also to manipulate and transform the actions depicted in the found images. Through framing, chroma-keying, and rotoscoping, these actions become disembodied and fragmented. Original footage, primarily of hands, interacts with found images, trying to touch, grasp and manipulate them in a very literal way.
Additional info:
Centre CLARK exhibtion text by Manon Tourigny
Eastern Edge exhibtion text by Nancy Webb
How to Chop an Onion: Anna Hawkins and the Textures of the Online Tutorial by Daniella Sanader, published in Blackflash magazine
“How to Chop an Onion” 2-channel HD Video, 00:10:38 (1 min. 19 sec. clip - full video available upon request)
“How to Chop an Onion” 2-channel HD Video, 00:10:38 (2 min. 10 sec. clip - full video available upon request)