Made of Clay and Water

Made of Clay and Water 2005 

Through a concept of poetic interviews, these videos metaphorically extrapolate aspects of the life of my late mother, Irma Paris. The artwork inquires: in the face of complicated loss due to political violence, could still one's life be filled with beauty and love? These qualities seem to emerge with strength as one confronts such a predicament. This work proposes a form of conversation beyond the verbal by exploring the notion of personal history as ‘stored in the body’. The haptic camera searches for the 'where' those memories may be in the body. 

The recording took place at each of the participant's homes. The body movements were improvised in the original location as part of their interview responses. 

Production, direction, camera: Livia Daza-Paris 

Sound, editing: Alejandro Rodríguez 

Text, poem, voice: Livia Daza-Paris 

Participants: Ingrid Hein, Nadine Mondestin, Veronica Pelicaric and Jutta Woods.

Made of Clay and Water was presented as a video installation at Tanzquartier, Vienna, Austria, in the North/South Lab, 2005. Curated by Benoît Lachambre.