PRIVATE PROPERTY
In 2016, my family bach was put up for sale, not by choice but because other shareholders that had invested in the property were ready to sell. Unfortunately, my family was not able to buy out the other shareholders, since it was far too expensive.
The 3.6 hectares of property is being subdivided into more than 30 sections, there are Various lot sizes available from $425,000, and waterfront sites are priced from $795,000. This is a short documentary film titled "Private Property" created and directed by Chelsea Bauer.
This film provides an insight to the heartbreaking reality that exists within the destruction of what used to be a family property. It is about the contrast between the past and the present state of this specific location. This topic is a very touchy subject within my family, it is not something we like to talk about as it is extremely upsetting. This property had been in my family for around 45 years, so many memories were made there. We even buried two of our beloved dogs there whose names were Jess and Oscar. For this property to be sold, for me it feels as though 18 years of making a lifetime of memories have been wiped.
NOW YOU SEE ME (PART 2)
Now you see me, I will not fade into the background. You will notice me and not just because of my "hourglass figure" and my long hair that you think is there for you to pull, and not because you need a meal cooked, ready for you when you get home from work but because I deserve to be seen. I am here, and in reality you need me more than I could ever need you.
My work as a whole, is strongly driven and inspired by women artists involved in the abstract expressionist movement that began in the late 1940s. During this time it was extremely difficult for woman to be creative beings. Women were not seen as equals but merely as objects. Initially I was drawn to the bright colors that are consistent throughout the works during this time era, but I was equally as interested in the women who's work during this time was brushed aside and removed from the history books.
Women such as Michael west and Helen Frakenthaler. In my series of images, feminist undertones are prevalent throughout, women were expected to be stay at home mothers and housewives. I used this idea to fuel my work,This is my way of rebelling against those expectations and providing a voice for those women who’s works went unnoticed. "This is a man's world, this is a man's world But it wouldn't be nothing, nothing without a woman or a girl". - James Brown
closer
Duration: 2:25
Take a closer look and tell me what you see, Is the first thing you notice the freckles on my skin? The wrinkles under my eyes or is it the scars? Tell me, Do you assume things about me just because of the marks that are left upon my body?
My short film focuses on the body, in particular the scarring that comes along with them. I was intrigued in the way that scars have the ability to tell a story and how we as a collective are quick to assume things about people because of the scars that they wear upon their skin, some known as battlescars.
During the exploratory process of the found element of this project, I gathered images from people on my social media accounts, all showing a variety of scarring upon the body. After a few weeks of exploring the potential within the different stories the scars told I decided to focus on one body in particular.
I headed in the direction of looking at the human body as a landscape, getting up close and personal, exploring texture and discovering new ways to look at the body through the use of a lens. There a many factors throughout my project that suggest and touch upon the topic of self harm. Factors that I too can relate to. Unfortunately mental illness is still classed as a “taboo” subject in today's society. I wanted to create a short film that would have the ability to create discussion surrounding this topic.
The use of layering is prevalent throughout the film as I wanted to provide the sense of repetitive nature that comes along with self harm, if you look close enough, you can see scaring layered on top of each other, similar to painting a new layer on a canvas.
During the filming process I wanted ‘Closer’ to be more suggestive in the way that it eases in and out of focus, ultimately making the audience have to look closer in order to know what part of the body they are looking at. Included in my film are personal poems/song lyrics written and read aloud by my subject. Often it is difficult to express the way we feel, By writing them down it is a way to process these feelings rather than keeping them inside and allowing them to consume you.
Throughout my editing process I kept this in mind, I wanted the audio to have the ability to build up and manifest into something that really holds your attention, making you tune into the different voice recordings that playing. It was important to make sure that by having multiple voices playing at once that the audio wasn't too busy. Chelsea Bauer