Demon Girl Duet

2007-8

 

Demon Girl Duet presents a sonic-video duet that juxtaposes and interweaves two separate but simultaneous journeys on rivers of mythic proportions. One journey leads us toward the sea down the Chang Jiang (Yangtze), China’s principle waterway, and the other takes us inland up the Niagara, which spans a 35-mile stretch of the border between Canada and the United States. Each journey is led by the same ‘tour guide’ in the form of an elusive, phantasmagorical swimmer who sings a haunting siren song of warning about the ecological and social consequences of controlling nature and human populations by imposing rational order and insatiable development. Demon Girl Duet has been presented both as a single-channel video projection and as a two-channel video installation.

 

 


excerpt from Demon Girl Duet

 

 


media: two-channel video projections, stereo audio track
dimensions: 500 sq. ft
duration: 07:49 looped
lyrics: Millie Chen
composition: Millie Chen, Katherine Duncanson
vocals and drone: Katherine Duncanson
swimmer: Molly Eagen
animation: Nelson Wei Tan

 

Demon Girl Duet was first exhibited at Wharf, Centre d’art contemporain de Basse Normandie, Caen, France, curated by Gilles Forest and Catherine Bédard. Supported by Chalmers Arts Fellowship through the Ontario Arts Council and the Canada Council for the Arts.