artist manifesto
about duana's work...
the multi-disciplinary work of duana r anderson encompasses film, video, photography, mixed & multimedia, as well as writing and performance art. her visual works are usually photographic based and incorporate a layering of media, imagery and subtext that is haunting, complex, mysterious and compelling. poetic and often macabre, duana's images exist as a manifestation of her multiple personas or aspects of the "shadow self" (her desires and fears) that she exorcises through her art. these entities exist in a dystopic universe, but one that closely resembles our own. inspirations are derived from hallucinatory dream-states, nightmares, mythology, Jungian psychology, science & anatomy.
works of photography that have been published in various pulp zines include Spirit in Photo Life magazine. imago, is a photo exhibit featuring archetypal self-portraits influenced by the Jungian tarot that will be featured in the Work's In Progress show at Gallery ConneXion in Fredericton the month of June 2002.
to create her unique composite works duana uses various methods of distressing, distorting and manipulating the photographic negative and/or print. duana experiments with different ways to "destroy", "desconstruct" and "recreate" the imagery into various forms of decay and resurrection. some tools and/or methods include using caustic chemicals (ie: bleach, etc), blowtorching negative or photos, smearing liquid mediums, scratching, etching, double-exposures, contact printing layers of imagery, collage and montage, re-photographing to create composite images. these processes all require a "hands-on" approach and rarely include digital alterations as she prefers to use digital mediia to create audio/visual erotiscapes.
while completing her 3rd year in Photography, duana became interested in moving images (video & film). her first project that she wrote, produced, directed and edited entirely by herself is an experimental digital video installation called Cyborgasm Canal, which was included in the group show "Mother of Invention: Sex Toys for the New Millennium" at the Arts Department at UNB in Fredericton in January 2002. the installation is an exploration into the fetisization of technology, the allure of a hybrid humans-machines that blur the boundaries of flesh and prosthetics, and the role of masturbation and sex in virtual reality for the new millennium. duana is currently working on a flash/ web version of this piece which will première on Dark Maiden sometime in May 2002 where it will be broadcast from May 23-26, 2002, at the E-Lounge (a group exhibition featuring web generated works including digital, audio-scapes, interactive works and webcams) at the University of Moncton, to coexist with The Atlantic Cultural Space: New Directions in Heritage and the Arts. until then, read her Artist Statement about the show here and see slides from the installation.
currently, duana is working on several moving images works under her indie film production company LunaSea Films. these include a short (10 minute) dramatic film Neverville, Population 101 (a neo-noirish, cyber-punk flic about a young runaway who finds empathy and hope through a mysterious stranger), Diary of a Dead Girl, a half hour film about a suicide victim in purgatory, and Blood Moon an experimental work of images and soundscapes with a woman/lesbianism/pagan theme.
dogma
why duana creates morbid/erotic art..."i am interested in the dichotomy of that which attracts and repels at the same time. these opposites are Tiaost/Jungian in natural which i believe echo the underlying truths of our existence.
i don't believe that there can be true beauty without the grotesque, or goodness without evil. these are the extremes within the balance of nature. by showing these extremes i allow them to play off each other, thus becoming more intense, thought provoking, and dynamic. it is the chiaroscuro play of light against dark, youth against decay, & beauty against monstrosities. fear and desire also play an intricate part in that dichotomy.
i have talked about being a junkie to "fear" and "lust". it is an obsessive relationship i have with both. it is like being a "thrill" junkie were you jump out of planes just to feel that rush of adrenaline. "fear" and "lust" (the morbid & the erotic) create the same typical responses by the body and mind. both manifest by sending a shock to our senses, jump-starting our emotions. they allow us to feel the keen razor's edge of what it is to live. this is a precarious edge, one that embodies elements of danger, which is as compelling as an addiction to drugs. But, the danger is half of the seduction..."
--duana r anderson
manifest | covet | exhume | possess | bleed | breathe
gaze | sacrifice | writhe | stalk | lust | expose | intercourse
:: M A I N ::© 2002 DUANA R. ANDERSON. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Graphics, webcreation, multimedia, imagery & wordscraft created by duana © 1999-2002