Abigail Child Films
Abigail Child has had resounding success in the film making world with the ability of touching and explaining humanity. In her series, “Is This What Your Were Born For?,” Child has managed to create a humorous and meticulous yet poetic compression where every sound and image brings out vivid connotation with humanity issues. It is not easy to predict what next in between the scenes and there is an urge to wait till the end of the story. Her work does not end with this series. She has had much to offer all through the years.
The uniqueness and fascinating nature of Abigail’s films reaches far and wide from the past into the present. Her 1983 film, Mutiny is the second part of “Is This What You Were Born For?” The filmmaker uses gestural skills, expression as well as recurring movement. It is interesting how she uses core images of women on the street, workplace, at home, talking, jumping, at school, playing the violin and singing as well. All these settings have been used to highlight their advantages and plight in speech. The art work flirts with the opposition language physically, pragmatically and politically. The Mutiny film is revolutionary, challenging and very daring to the filmmaking canons. The main aspects addressed here are rebellion and femininity. The assembled women from various settings create a comic atmosphere with smiles and dancing with a rule of speaking truthfully.
In the sixth part of the series, Mayhem 1987, the filmmaker employs various movements, looks and gestures to replicate a social order. Sexuality fills the atmosphere in the entire film alongside glamour, aggression, danger and sexual tension. Hostility between men and women is very evident in the way women are costumed in polka while the men are costumed in stripes. The film creates a bank of image of what symbolizes the seductive and sexual forms throughout the history of making images. The film highlights ways in which we learn concerning human bodies and how they have been utilized in the image forms.
Mirror World 2006 is another interesting film especially in the scene in which the maid takes the position of the queen as the princess is abased to the position of a maid. This is quite a disturbing and humiliating study based on sexuality and class. This artwork is a very fascinating thing to view and exemplary. The mirror world is intriguing. It takes the audience to a deeper thoughts and suspense. It is interesting to see how the film goes against acceptable laws due to causes of feminism. The work is not entirely abstract. There is a manipulation of objects to create meaning and establish how illusions are made and how history can be understood especially for the women. The film reflects on the ability of art to transform. It is based on an imagery platform to marry reality with art. Mirror world is a vital signifier since mirrors gesture the magical correspondence between a copy of an object and the object itself. In one of the scenes, there are three projectors in a large room with a similar number of white screens. This is indeed captivating as we see the author’s eyes reflected into that of the audience with the many actors exchanging platforms on the screen; something that the audience can really relate with in trying to get the message being passed on.
Child’s thematic concerns are mainly feministic. She has endeavored all through the years to address women affairs and of course, in relation to men in the society in which they live. She has successfully brought her own world of art to others and has made every effort to pass on an important message through her art work in a unique style.