Paradisus Terrestris

Paradisus Terrestris is a collection of multimedia works following on from Porcelain, as the artist takes on the role of an antihero persona called Lain. The narrative sees her transformation from famous feminine archetypes such as the good housewife, femme fatale, witch and deity. Themes such as gender politics, patriarchy, religious oppression, and equally liberation, have been central to the creation of her story. The artist presents these ideas through a range of specific objects and loaded imagery, such as the rose, knife, necklace and fruit, as symbols of the character's vengeance.  

 

Using photography and video to capture the artist as she undergoes these transformative performances, the narrative is set out much like a theatre production, comprising of several Acts and Scenes that respond to different domestic contexts and Biblical stories. However, they are presented in no particular order, awarding the viewer control over its chronology. The accompanying soundtrack, consisting of instrumental music, a simulated choir hymn, crows and a clock, foreshadows the protagonist’s progression from one identity to the next.  

 

Presented in the Multifarious exhibition at Staffordshire University in 2023 as an installation, the aim was to immerse the viewer in Lain’s story through a combination of domestic and cinematic approaches on varying scales using projectors and old TV's, in order to create a fictional atmosphere that also felt relevant to women’s experiences, both past and present.