Beatrice Gibson &
Nick Gordon &
The experimental film of Beatrice Gibson is a collage of personal material, events of the current affairs, fiction and mythological narratives. Dreaming Alcestis shows a woman and a man sleeping and dreaming in their apartment while the children play at their feet between moving boxes. While doing so, they discover a winding snake on the floor. Originating at the time of her move from London to Palermo in 2021, the film on the one hand provides insight into a seemingly everyday situation, while on the other hand creating a dream space, in which the mythical figure of the ancient Queen Alcestis is cited.
Alcestis’ husband, King Admetus, is fated to die from a snakebite at the command of the goddess Artemis but may survive when someone else sacrifices themself in his place. Alcestis offers to die in his place and dares to journey into the underworld. In antique tragedy, figures appear who are victims of circumstances outside their control. According to the poet Anne Carson, antique tragedies also represent a kind of »ancient self-help«. In this sense, Alcestis seemed to stand for »pure freedom« for Beatrice Gibson and her partner Nick Gordon – and not as someone impelled. She serves Gibson as a foil for linking her own experiences with a handed-down narrative and analysing it. The project offered her an opportunity for flight from domestic isolation during the pandemic. Family and motherhood are represented in a form that enables art and co-creation.
The holographic presentation invites viewers to dream with the dreamers. »The dreamers spill into the space and onto the spectators who can walk through and around their dreaming.« (Kathrin Jentjens)
Co-directed by: Beatrice Gibson and Nick Gordon
Written by: Maria Nadotti, Nick Gordon and Beatrice Gibson
Produced by: Okta Films
Co-commissioned by: Museo Civico di Castelbuono and British Art Show 9
Partnered by: Ordet, Milan and Macro Museo, Roma
Supported by: Italian Council (10th Edition, 2021), a program run by the Italian Ministry of Culture’s Directorate-General for Contemporary Creativity
