Two HD Videos, 12 & 11 minutes, 2021
'What Does Power Look Like?' is a three part video essay by the artist Matthew de Kersaint Giraudeau exploring the way that power appears to us as words, gestures and images.
Power is a complex system of relationships and actions, but we think about power in a number of uncomplicated ways. What do these simple expressions of power look like, what purpose do they serve, and who do they benefit?
In part one, we explore metaphors: words and image-schemas that structure the abstract concept of power. We take two common metaphors of power - the ladder (as in career ladder) and the chain (as in chain of command) - and through narration, moving image and music, we explore the surface of these metaphors to think about how they look, and why they look the way they do.
In part two, we explore gestures: bodily forms of communication that express themselves without using words. We focus on the handshake as a temporary gesture of equality that can also be used to express dominance or perform submission. We ask whether the jerky handshake of former U.S President Donald Trump is a power grab or a failed embrace of the other, and through re-performance, we try to understand the power relations embodied in the ritual handshake of the American cult, NXIVM.
Performers in part two: Hamish MacPherson & Mil Vukovic-Smart
