| Through the use of video and photography, much of my work seeks to examine both psychological and visceral aspects within the nature of subjectivity. I have been exploring issues of mortality and identity, through the context of the performative. My video work portrays given gestures, “acted-out,” directly to the camera/viewer, which are, most often, recorded in real time. Within the process of the work, there is an oscillation between the still and moving image, in order to heighten a sense of anticipation and anxiety for the viewer. Time, therefore, plays a key role in my work, both with my relationship to the nature of recording the event, and my placing of the viewer in relation to it. With my work, I am attempting to collapse the space between the imaginary and the real, where the illusory devices—which are perceived on initial viewing to seduce the viewer into the act of looking (by either historical references to painting or the spectacle)—are interrupted and subverted. | 
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Diane Timmins
Diane Timmins, Ladies And Gentlemen. Courtesy of the artist.
Through the use of video and photography, much of my
work seeks to examine both psychological and visceral aspects within
the nature of subjectivity. I have been exploring issues of mortality
and identity, through the context of the performative. My video work
portrays given gestures, “acted-out,” directly to the camera/viewer,
which are, most often, recorded in real time. Within the process of the
work, there is an oscillation between the still and moving image, in
order to heighten a sense of anticipation and anxiety for the viewer.Time, therefore, plays a key role in my work, both with my
relationship to the nature of recording the event, and my placing of
the viewer in relation to it. With my work, I am attempting to collapse
the space between the imaginary and the real, where the illusory
devices—which are perceived on initial viewing to seduce the viewer
into the act of looking (by either historical references to painting or
the spectacle)—are interrupted and subverted. Through the sound of a
breath, or the subject looking out at the viewer, as if “looking back”
beyond the confines of the “frame,” into their personal space, the
distance between the image and the viewer shifts, the nature of the
spectacle back to the viewer.The aspect of my practice, which lies in a questioning of
the nature of identity, is explored through the representation of the
signs of the masculine and feminine within the image. I am fascinated
by the limits placed on the defining of the subject, and by a
questioning of such certainties within the representation of the self
and other or self as other. A fluctuation between the polarities of the
passive and active states of the subject is used to both seduce and
repel. Whether I am using contained and fragmented bodies, appearing
dead, or being angels and devils, (even giving myself a “personalized”
mausoleum), it is in these symbolic representations of death that I am
attempting to question and explore my relationship to mortality and the
boundaries that define the space between life and death.
