Beyond the Water's Edge

2017

CGI Film

1ch HD Video | 1ch HD Sound

2'45''

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In Beyond the Water’s Edge, a newly synthesised body awakens within an endless ocean; — a reference to the womb, but also a symbol from art history of the unconscious mind. The poreless sheen of his sculpted surface holds a metallic edge; the perfect sterility. Employing computer animation, permits me to construct these fantasies; controlled environments that act as safe spaces in exploring my bodily desires. This is a space in which I hold absolute control over the body; from its wireframe mesh up to the way that the body is lit and framed by the camera. 

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Removed of phallus, his masculinity falls redundant. He holds no power here. However, the construction of this physically desirable yet sexually incompetent form falls deeper than a subversion of the typical power structures experienced online. Instead, it extends into rooted feelings of inadequacy, an inability to perform the roles that are expected of our bodies. 

 

As he quests onward through the shallow tides, the cleansing waters rise against the flesh. In his search for a fleeting sense of self-acceptance, he awakens once more and the cycle repeats, infinitely. 

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Beyond the Water's Edge is the second part in a trilogy, following Dreams in Ultraviolet.​

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Documentation credits: The Royal Standard and Jules Lister