Surveillance Study: Narrative 1
2010 Marilyn Volkman


Video, 20minutes TRT

In Surveillance Study: Narrative 1 the speaking subject is asked to repeat a vague narrative of a tragic event three times. The woman tells the narrative from the first person, the second person, and finally the third person. With each attempt she is asked to remove herself emotionally from the story she tells. Ultimately, the subject is unable to inhabit the story in the third person, and the structure of the narrative fails—opening up a space for another type of linguistic truth.