Continuing with the theme of the fetishizing of clothing items such as collars, I developed this video from audio interviews I made with an ex Mod, who was a member of The South London Revival Scooter Club
I met Geoff through the South London Revival Scooter Club that I found on the internet, after I had attended a few club meetings.I was interested in asking the group about their relationship to clothes and the scootering, both in their youth and currently
I made two visits to his home to record the conversations we had in which I asked him
pre-scripted questions
The subjects we covered are above and the conversation developed unexpectedly into him talking about his terminal illness and the funeral arrangements he had made
Not fitting in -having a facial disfigurement
Audiopiece only, not shown as a film
My own video footage taken in Brighton during this project with added text to highlight particular words could make a connnection between the mods and their fights with the rockers on the beach in the 1960's ?
Audio and text
Audio, with circles appearing and fading and text that highlights selected words
4 possible outcomeswere developed and I decided to go with the text only but it did not seem resolved fully resolved to me. I would have preferred something more visually stimulating and so this need further thought when I undertake the next audio project of this type
The Outsider (2012)
DVD Video Projection
Duration 3 mins 21 secs
His own funeral plans
His membership of the Territorial army and vists to Wooton Bassett
Being born with a facial disfigurement
Life as a teenage Mod
Current biking and scootering activities Membership of the Masonic Lodge
One of the interesting aspects of this type of work is when the subject reveals an aspect of themselves that is completely unexpected and this can alter the emphasis of the work dramatically
Methodology
Themes
RIDICULE
It was important to
focus the editing on the importance of group membership, group loyalty and the signifiers of belonging; especially the clothes and their specific details
When I had edited the audio to my satisfaction (there were several versions as it developed , I was challenged by whether/ how to express the material visually or keep as an audio piece
I wanted the edit to include the references to Geoff's experiences of previous and current illnesses without being exploitative
I made an editorial decision to reject the audio relating to Masonic membership and holidays/ travel as these do not align closely with my area of
interest
I envisaged 4 possible outcomes as below
Sharon McElroy