Between Mirrors

Reckitt, Helena. 2014. Between Mirrors. In: Sarah Pucill, ed. Magic Mirror (DVD). London: LUX, pp. 1-17. ISBN 9780992884017 [Book Section]

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Abstract or Description

Commissioned by LUX and the artist Sarah Pucill to accompany the distribution of the DVD of Pucill's 2013 film 'Magic Mirror', ‘Between Mirrors’ considers the generative impact of the work of one artist on that of another: in this case that of artist and writer Claude Cahun (1894-1954) on Pucill. Reflecting on the numerous thematic and aesthetic ttropes that connect the two artists’ work, the essay explores the artistic self as porous and relational. Creative reciprocity and fusion between women is highlighted, with the experience being seen and represented through the desiring gaze of another as central to lesbian erotics and creativity. Rather than treating Pucill’s response to Cahun as a straightforward homage, the essay explores the complexity of Pucill's response, including how photographs by Cahun are painstakingly restaged, and how numerous scenes in the film have no visual reference in Cahun. The essay also discusses how Pucill teases out latent qualities of Cahun's work, such as the cinematic qualities of her photographs and the resonances between her visual and verbal expression. Cahun’s own practice of bricolage and appropriation is considered as a fitting antecedent to Pucill’s approach, with antecedents in Oscar Wilde's queer approach to reproduction. Discussing the lack of attention that Cahun received as an artist during her day, the essay posits Pucill’s film as a way for Cahun to be seen that was not possible during her lifetime, but which she herself anticipated hopefully.

Item Type:

Book Section

Additional Information:

Discussions emerging from the essay, including the role of sound and voice in 'Magic Mirror' and the complexities of working in response to the oeuvre of more established artist, developed during a post-screening conversation between Pucill and the author at the launch of the DVD at JW3 in London in November, 2014.

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Departments, Centres and Research Units:

Art

Dates:

DateEvent
1 November 2014Published

Item ID:

11064

Date Deposited:

06 Jan 2015 09:32

Last Modified:

16 Apr 2021 08:54

URI:

https://research.gold.ac.uk/id/eprint/11064

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