There are qualities in my work, which are reminiscent of works of Stephanie Smith and Edward Stewart particularly Mouth to Mouth 1995. The artists challenge their own physical limitations. I adapted the concept of the framing of the mouth to under the water. Here I held my breath for a period of time and then came to the surface. Bill Viola expressed in his piece Angel’s Gate 1989 that when a candle is blown out or a child painfully moves to the surface or a baby is born these are images of transition, a violent breakthrough in life. One of my main choices before filming and editing was to come out of the water, take a breath and then reverse this in the edit. As unnatural as this seems it conveys emerging from a prolonged situation and then returning to it. All one’s endurance becomes undone. This entity is manipulated backwards through time. There is a u-turn in the piece and the person emerges. Again it relates to the anatomy where one needs air in order to breathe. There is an element of suppression and restraint. This expresses qualities such as endurance, perseverance and torture. An important aspect of this work was the bubbles, the release of air and this in reverse. It made me think about expressing oneself and emotional behavior.

Copyright 2010 Angela Molloy. Northern Ireland Multi-media and performance artist based in Belfast.