LINDA DUVALL Visual and Media Artist

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Pain of Separation 1997

Video Projection onto sand or equivalent floor surface
Size of Projection: Approximately 8 feet x 6 feet, depending on height of ceiling and projector lens
Length of Video: 37 minutes (looped to fill 2 hour tape)

Pain of Separation looks at urban activities in the garden relative to rural ones, and the discrepancy between the nostalgic memories of the rural life style and the physical hardships that were a very real part of Saskatchewan's history.
I interviewed approximately 20 Saskatchewan residents from a range of experiences, backgrounds, ages, and regions. Then I excerpted parts of each of these statements and reorganized them into categories or conversations on specific topics. For example, one category was the nostalgic language used to talk about grandparents' gardens. The next category consisted of the individuals' very real experiences of hard work in their own family gardens.
Although the beginning point of this project was a discussion of one's relationship to gardening activities, the whole piece is much more about issues of transience and roots, pleasure and pain, privacy, and the complexities of contemporary life, especially from a feminine perspective. This work also reflects the extensive nature of immigration to this province, and the extent to which one's past history affects one's present view of the place. Each contributor to this extended conversation brings a unique perspective that contributes to shifts in perception.
The video is projected onto white sand or other material on the floor using a mirror system. The image is in the middle of the floor, with chairs positioned on all sides of the image so that one can move around it and view it from all directions. This is further encouraged by the perspective from which the video has been shot.
Because the video projector is located on a shelf near the ceiling, the audio is transferred through separate speakers that are located on the floor near the chairs. This location of the speakers further contributes to the sense of being part of an ongoing conversation.
The video and audio are looped onto a 2 hour tape so that both play continuously.