Turning a worldly eye on innocence

“Face Me ” Denise Marika’s video installation in the next room, also ties the experience of an adult woman to that of a young girl. The video, projected on a 4-foot-tall cylinder of blue sandpaper, is a close-up of a ‘woman’s face, from nose to neck. It turns, and a man’s hand grabs the chin and violently turns the face back to the camera –but it isn’t a woman’s face now; it’s that of a 4- year-old girl. The transition is seamless as the girl’s face turns again, is grabbed –this time by a woman’s hand –and returns as the adult. In a few seconds, the power dynamic –within a whole family, from abusive spouse to abusive parent, plays itself out in simple gestures on a big, rough screen.