Sonny and the Snake, 2003-2006, Video: 3 minutes 20 seconds, handmade cotton suit and interview.

 

This piece deals with duplicity as an intrinsic human attribute, and reveals the animalistic nature of aggression. The video/performance deals with two simultaneous narratives: Sonny recounts an encounter with a snake while a costumed figure shadowboxes menacingly before the viewer. Sonny endears herself to the viewers by beginning her story with such a polite and ostensibly pleasant manner; her story turns sinister when she discovers a snake on her sidewalk and decides to preemptively kill it with a shovel. As the shadowboxer lets out his “SSSS” “SSSS” “SSSS” punching-breaths, questions arise about who is the snake and who is the assailant. Through this uncertainty the binary breaks down and the two characters emerge as parallels.

 

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