Projects > Mirage (2005)

Mirage is based on my trip to Cuba and explores the double image of a "forbidden" place: Cuba forbidden to Americans and the United States forbidden to Cubans. These myths and realities are reinforced by the place itself, especially the waterfront that is both part of the city’s natural beauty and also an embodiment of distance and longing. The video projections on two troughs of water are likewise a complementary pair: one, a roving gaze through Habana Vieja, and the other an iconic image of solitary and endless wandering. Brief details of Havana street life (on a smaller monitor) punctuate these floating images.

Winner of the Excellence in Visual Exhibition Award from Performing Art Chicago, 2005

Running time: Three loops, approximately 10 minutes each.

Videography: Sandra Binion
Video editor: Ed Rankus
Sound design and mix: Lou Mallozzi, Experimental Sound Studio
Technical Assistance: Pete Wenger
Drapery Assistance: John Diekman of the Joel Klaff Workroom
Seamstress: Rosa Pillajo
Trough Construction: Belvin J & F Sheet Metal

Mirage is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency. Additional support provided by the Evanston Art Center, the Ragdale Foundation, the Playboy Foundation, Abt Electronics, Elizabeth Price, Linda Kramer, Mary Kennedy, and Judy A. Marcus.