Disappear Here

The focus of Sue de Beer’s two-channel video installation is a girl positioned at the transition to adulthood. In her room, facing a polaroid camera, she poses for a self-portrait while recalling a frightful event — or perhaps dream — related to an ordinary day at school. The figures in de Beer’s films are often adolescents, whose personalities are immature and whose self-images are unsure. The girl’s room and its characteristic furnishings represent the safe environment in which one can freely experiment with various roles. The five-minute video is divided into three scenes, each of which has a title, similar to chapters in a novel. As is often the case in de Beer’s work, the video contains various references to literature, particularly works of American gothic fiction.