Fatima stands in the middle of nowhere, a deserted beach, a deserted plain, a desert; her head covered in what appears to be a chador, the footage black and white and stark (Friðriksdóttir, 2001 ). Her body is angled 45° towards the viewer, where she stares off to the left, gaze unwavering and steady, giving very little away. The soundtrack is distorted; slowed and disquieting, creating an alien environment that sounds like something familiar but just out of reach. And then she… screams? Laughs? It’s not clear from the footage, but a black fluid begins to spill from her open mouth as her eyes suddenly appear wide and manic: blood.

The camera focuses in on her mouth as a bubble forms from her bloodied teeth and eventually pops: she’s laughing. But this isn’t a joyous laughter – it is one of delirium; the kind that is perhaps defiant or perhaps at the end of its tether.

My interest here is in what can be implied through minimal movements, symbolism, and the tone they create. We are unaware of what is happening off-screen or what happened before this moment, and instead are faced by this young woman, blood dripping down her chin, as she appears gripped by some kind of mania. While her motivations are unclear, the atmosphere of the piece isn’t: its isolation speaks of the othering of this woman, where she is forced to respond to her unknown situation alone. 

The camera pans out again and Fatima steadies herself, relaxes her face, and turns away from the viewer as the video blurs, the sound becomes a distorted, pulsing bass, and we are left looking out towards the horizon, a vast, isolated space which has at last consumed Fatima. An end card appears: it simply reads “©fatamorgana”.

As with other video sources referenced here, it was both the ambiguity of intent mixed with a strong sense of atmosphere that informed my approach to create the videos for my degree show piece.