The visual silence explores the idea that through reducing image and expanding sound in film, a radical new collaborative space may appear, one in which the spectator's own imaginary is an essential part of the film itself.
The project was informed by Laura Mulveys classical feminist theories on visual pleasure and the male gaze but also by Buddhist teachings and the punk rock do-it-yourself ethos. This research is indebted to the work of several artists and filmmakers who have explored gaze in other and different ways, particularly Derek Jarman, Chantal Akerman, Ousmane Sembène and Marguerite Duras.
The research project resulted in a feature length film, Lucky One (2019). It took several years to complete, and was the result of collaborations with a number of people who contributed to the research in many different ways. We explored the black image, the detached image, the abstract image and the narrative voice as different ways of approaching the visual silence. In making the film, we explored alternative methods of film making – ways in which to organise a film shoot in an inclusive, non-hierarchal and sustainable way.
