Second Trimester

HD video for streaming online or projection with sound, 1 minute 47 seconds, 2015                                         

Third Trimester

HD video for streaming online or projection with sound, 1 minute 19 seconds, 2016

Second Trimester and Third Trimester are two short videos made during the middle and last stages of pregnancy. They stage my fattening body in two different ways. In Second Trimester my pregnant abdomen performs for the camera, while words and objects are overlaid in quick succession. The focus is on the stomach and no head, voice, breasts or legs are visible, as if time is suspended in gestation and the narrative becomes entirely naval-centric. In Third Trimester I use the camera and a mirror to cut, distort and contort my pregnant body, provoking a sense of anxiety and unrest. This time, my entire body and head is present and I capture the video on my iPhone, as I sit on a workout mat at the gym. My body is manipulated so that it appears as both flattened and fattened on the screen. The audio, made from a computerised female voice, is frenetic and stressful.