The Peacock Wallpaper
2009-11
Mixed-media installation (audio, 19:20 minutes)

I am interested in issues of psychological violence and the historical phenomenon of ‘female hysteria’. My inspiration for this project is “The Yellow Wallpaper,” (1891), a short story about domestic psychological abuse and madness by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. This installation utilizes photography, audio and sculptural elements. I have re-created a colonial era bedroom within the gallery, which is inspired by the Victorian wallpapered bedroom that is the setting for the story, “The Yellow Wallpaper.” There are photographs, Anglo-Indian furnishings, and a William Morris style wallpaper with scrawled journal-style writing that tell the personal story of a fictional character -an upper-class, modern, educated and ambitious Indian woman who is driven mad by her husband in the 1920’s. She is present in the room only as a deceased character, seen in a series of surreal vignettes in an old family photo album and in four portraits on the walls. The story about the woman’s life is also heard through audio speakers in the room, which is narrated by the main character in the form of a short fragmented Gothic ghost story.

The Peacock Wallpaper II, 2009-11, Mixed-media installation (audio, 19:20 minutes). Installation view, Art Gallery of Greater Victoria.

The Peacock Wallpaper II, 2009-11, Mixed-media installation (audio, 19:20 minutes). Installation view, Art Gallery of Greater Victoria.

The Peacock Wallpaper II, 2009-11, Mixed-media installation (audio, 19:20 minutes). Detail of wallpaper with handwritten text, Art Gallery of Greater Victoria.

The Peacock Wallpaper, 2009, Mixed-media installation (audio, 19:20 minutes). Installation view, Religare Arts Initiative, Delhi

The Peacock Wallpaper, 2009, Mixed-media installation (audio, 19:20 minutes). Detail of framed photograph on wallpaper with handwritten text, Religare Arts Initiative, Delhi

The Peacock Wallpaper, 2009-11, Mixed-media installation (audio, 19:20 minutes). Detail of framed photograph in the installation.

The Peacock Wallpaper, 2009-11, Mixed-media installation (audio, 19:20 minutes). Detail of framed photograph in the installation.

The Peacock Wallpaper, 2009-11, Mixed-media installation (audio, 19:20 minutes). Detail of framed photograph in the installation.

The Peacock Wallpaper, 2009-11, Mixed-media installation (audio, 19:20 minutes). Detail of photograph in album in the installation.

The Peacock Wallpaper, 2009-11, Mixed-media installation (audio, 19:20 minutes). Detail of photograph in album in the installation.