Women in boxes

women boxed is a two-channel video installation, that invites dialogue about how womens’ labour is viewed in society.
The world of magic has been dominated by men where the magician actively drives the story and the female assistant functions as a spectacle for the male gaze. The magician’s assistant brings the act to a stop and captures the spectator’s gaze and excess – she freezes the flow of action in moments of erotic contemplation. Parallel to today’s world of ever-present gender inequality, the female assistant to the magician plays the role of victim – she is a woman who is literally encased in a box, awaiting her fate. While the male magician saws her in half, he is propelled to fame, as the audience delights in the female assistant being subjected to peril and pain. Effectively, the female assistant, largely responsible for the success of the trick, is hardly recognized.