Bright Shiny Objects

Janet Biggs, 2004
Single channel SD video with sound
Running time 4:39

In Bright Shiny Objects, a new video created for this risd Museum screening, Biggs develops these ideas further by juxtaposing incongruous images that relay a sense of isolated and suppressed intensity. The work opens with footage of a remarkable seven-year-old autistic girl, who has been able to fly on the ice from the moment she first tried on a pair of skates. Apparently, the physical sensation of unfettered movement taps into an innate reservoir of rhythmic coordination and fluidity in the girl, allowing her to break free from the confines of her debilitating disorder, if only for a short while. Intercut with these scenes is the vision of a horse fastened to a lunge line, a type of harness used by a trainer to exercise and school the animal. The horse in motion — another evocation of physical prowess and freedom— is restrained to a tight circle, unable to run wild as he would in nature. The work comes to a surprising conclusion, which reinforces the notion that beneath the surface of all things lie unknown reserves of power.

From: Videos in Progress press release, by curator René Morales