portrait with a cigarette

This video and sound installation is a portrait of a young girl. It shares, however, little of the poised and contemplative nature of Munch’s Self Portrait with Cigarette (1895) which it references. A young girl looks down at us from a flat video screen. With an air of arrogance she holds her right hand loosely across her chest, a burning cigarette balanced between her fingers. A remote control, within the grasp of her left, emerges from the deep darkness of the background. Defiantly, the young girl points it towards us, and with it she takes charge of our viewing experience. Loud bursts of drum ‘n base and garage music (2000) erupt at intervals from the speakers behind the viewer. portrait with cigarette captures the restless spirit of its subject which is at odds with the composed and often timeless character of the traditional painted portrait. The event and the work terminate when the cigarette burns out.