| Recent Films | ||
|---|---|---|
| A selection of film stills and critiques
by Katherine Araniello |
||
| Meet the Superhuman 2012 (1 minute 35 seconds) |
'Meet the Superhuman' is a parody of the Channel 4 advertisement for the Paralympics, which is observational of the original and content has been removed and replaced through this process. In the original advertisement there is a montage displaying tragic visuals presenting a tragic narrative. In my version I have replaced the tragic sentimentality and opted for a different type of shocking/humorous exposé that displays a fictitious disabled athlete drinking champagne and eating junk food, which of course is in stark contrast to the extreme levels of preparation and training athletes undergo. This process has subverted the tragic element giving an alternative representation that is devoid of a medical model context. The Channel 4 ad is a trendy contemporary upbeat piece that succeeded in terms of installing advertising techniques to lure the public in and promote the Paralympic sports. The failure of the advert is it was unable to avoid a sentimental narrative that gives justification and reasons as to how people have become disabled. My version highlights the need for representation of disability to avoid a medical context. | |
| Superhuman Part 2 2012 (2 minutes 56 seconds) |
'Superhuman part 2' (also referred to as 'Paralympian Programmed and Delivered') is a follow-on from 'Meet The Superhuman.' I find the terminology that the Paralympians use repetitive and the opposite to inspiring. The sentimentality of heroic status is not an association that I personally adopt or want to be identified with.
'Superhuman Part 2' satires the terminology that genuine Paralympians use to self-promote their elite status as disabled athletes. London 2012 was a deluge of positive imagery of disability. There is a generic trait amongst Paralympians to use repetitive uplifting language coupled with the heroic sentiments of triumph over adversity. The film is a response to the Olympic frenzy and plays on the accentuated positivity of disability. The heightened focus of disability resulted in disabled people became palatable to the mainstream audience but in reality nothing new was actually delivered. |
|
| Katherine's Story 2012 (7 minutes 35 seconds) |
I perform to camera and play the role of the victim labelled a "Normal". I use clichéd medical sentiments associated to disabled people in my phoney bid to plead to the public to set up a charity and raise money for those of us suffering from a terrible disease, referred to as "Normal". | |
| Sick Bitch Blues 2012 (3 minutes 18 seconds) |
'Sick Bitch Blues' was composed in the aftermath of being seriously ill. The film's subversive lyrics and visuals play on and negate medical perceptions with references to disability, sickness and Dignitas (assisted dying organisation), juxtaposing this with absurdity, humour and bluntness. | |
| Follow
Me On My Journey To Die 2009 (15 minutes 39 seconds) |
'Follow
Me on My Journey To Die' follows Gem, a flamboyant artist whose plan to
commit suicide captures the attention of the masses. Not only does she have
Turner Prize committee in her sway but also the London fashion scene which
has been hit with a euthanasia craze.
The film was commissioned by The Magic Hour which is sponsored by 104 Films and the UK Film Council. 'Follow Me' continues my critique of the media and the attention it gives to both assisted suicide and body aesthetics. My work makes a mockery of this phenomenon by highlighting the superficiality of tabloid culture and the fascination people have with reality TV, tragedy and celebrity. |
|
Why
Do
|
Why Do You Want To Die is a pop video about assisted suicide with lyrics that exposes the superficial reasons for wanting to die. This video is one in a series of work on the theme of assisted suicide. |
|
| Sick
2008 (4 minutes 7 seconds) |
This piece is about
the distinction between being sick and being disabled and the false conflation
of the two.
I was reminded of this when I watched a television programme where they
were discussing the inclusion of 'fit & healthy' contestants who are
not very thin entering a Miss World contest. So I started to think about
the idea of 'fit & healthy' and how that relates to role models and
disability. I was reminded of the fact that many people associate disability
with illness and I wanted to make a work addressing this. |
Watch
the Film |
| The
Interview 2008 (13 minutes 4 seconds) |
The
piece is a mockery -- send up of those hideous trashy morning mainstream
radio programmes that churn out balderdash -- and become a recognizable
drone in the background. However in my radio interview if the listener does actually tune in -- they will be lured into a mixture of joviality contrasted with dark subversive humour. This artwork
was inspired from my experience of being invited to participate in a live
radio interview to do with art and disability issues. The Interview was aired in May 2007 on Bob & Roberta Smith's radio programme 'Make Your Own Damn Music'. |
|
The
Interview June 2005 |
I was one of
the artists selected to speak at the Common Sense conference (a gathering
of contemporary disabled artists who presented and discussed their work).
In response I presented a video in which I am interviewed about my work
by an image conscious girl in pink, (Daddy got her the job, you know how
it works…) All the stereotypes are intact as the interviewer preens
herself in the monitor, checking her image, saying yes and no - she hopes
in the right place. She pretends to listen to my answers to her increasingly
banal and offensive questions. Although the piece is humorous to watch
and tongue in cheek, there are serious implications for disabled artists,
commenting on the media’s refusal to take artists with disabilities
seriously. Finally the interviewer asks “You don't have hope?”! |
|
Pop
Video 'I Like That' July 2004 (4 minutes 22 seconds) |
The video is a parody of the pop industry in which I dance with a mannequin. I have no desire to be a pop star however the inspiration for this piece was to put myself inside a pop video aesthetic and through editing produce a work that could sit comfortably within the mainstream pop video genre. The pop video is also about body aesthetics -- and rather than a disabled person trying to fit into the considered 'norm' here I have presented a unique look which expands and challenges the conventions. |
|
![]() ![]() ![]() |
||
| Jennifer |
The
video “Jennifer” is based on the tragic representation of
disability that we are constantly reminded of from media representation.
I have used this as a starting point to produce “Jennifer”
an androgynous looking woman who uses an electric wheelchair but also
walks around. Jennifer is represented in the banal activity of feeding
the ducks. It is ambiguous for the viewer as to whether or not she really
is disabled and it is left to the viewer to decide that. The peaceful
surroundings of the film present an idyllic tranquil setting which corresponds
well with the leisurely pace of the editing. There is no spoken narrative
instead the story is told by Jennifer’s actions and the movement
of the camera. Tragic soundtrack accompanies Jennifer. Some of the music
is taken from films to enhance the sorrowful moment whilst one track is
a song by Donovan that has been edited to enhance its lyrics “Jennifer…longs
for what she lacks”. “Jennifer” questions our need to
stereotype others by juxtaposing a cocktail of social issues such as disability,
difference, gender identity and normality. |
|
| Shoot
Jan 2004, (1 minute 20 seconds) |
Shoot and Jennifer
run together in a loop. Shoot uses the same aesthetics as Jennifer which
results in a fast-paced digital montage. The flashing photography of individual
images presents a glamorous representation of a shiny commercially viable
product. On closer inspection the shiny metal and curved contours of the
product may not represent what one might expect.
|
![]()
|
| home | ||