Abstract

‘Unfinished’ takes as its starting point the familiar story of the released or escaped hostage as he recounts the experience of trauma. The work references the recent experiences of recollecting and accounting for the past in post conflict Northern Ireland and the media coverage of “the global war on terror’. The script of ‘Unfinished’ is based on research into the televised accounts of hostages and their description of the moment of their abduction and of the places where they were held. Consequently, ‘Unfinished’ is highly scripted and makes use of one actor and one location. This is the first work that Doherty has made that explores the possibilities for incorporating diegetic dialogue and non-diegetic elements within a gallery based video installation. The research explores a dynamic interplay between actor/location and viewer/gallery. Two synchronized video sequences are installed in such a way as to set up a dislocation between the space where the actor/hostage sits, the place he struggles to remember and the physical space of the darkened gallery. The installation of the work challenges conventions of narrative continuity as the viewer is compelled to shift between two events that are both temporally and spatially connected but disrupted. Doherty tests the sculptural potential of the physical installation of moving imagery to impact upon and disrupt the experience of space and to challenge existing notions of video installation. ‘Unfinished’ was first shown as part of Lack, a one-person exhibition at Alexander and Bonin Gallery, New York, 675/10 until 26/6/10 and subsequently at Galeria Moises Perez de Albeniz, Pamplona, Spain from 19/11/10 until 15/1/11. ‘Unfinished’ has been acquired by Colección de Arte Contemporáneo Fundació "La Caixa", Barcelona.