REFLEXION OBSCURA

Reflexion Obscura is a video about child abuse that forces the viewer to confront the darkness felt by an abused child. Many children are physically and psychologically abused–by family members, governments, corporations, or schools; however, only sensational reports of maltreatment and violence are common in the news. Western societies’ obsession with youth has transformed the lives of children into states of idyllic perfection, simplifying accounts of abuse into stories of good versus evil, and hiding the complexity of the problem.

Taking cues from the child in the video, I tried to preserve the strange feeling of her performance; the energy of her imagination became a medium for my own reflections. Seeing the repressed pain surface in the movements of the child, I came to better understand the indelibility of abuse’s aftermath. The morose quality of the enactment jars our sensibilities, as we typically view children as more innocent reflections of ourselves. By exploring the depth and complexity of the child’s emotions, I hope to allow the feelings of each viewer to emerge according to their own experiences.

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