Artist
In the middle of a space lined in black velvet is a white fridge, its door slightly ajar, its shelves pristine and empty. A gentle new-age voice offers tips and affirmations - "Never eat in secret", "munch on ice-cubes" - which are superimposed on another voice, barely audible, that reads a letter to Ana.
The sound installation is an investigation of eating disorders, and the subcultures they have produced. The tips and letters recited in the work come from websites that ‘Pro-Ana’, (pro anorexia) girls host online. There exists within the work a reference to addiction, but in this instance the emphasis is on deprivation, rather than indulgence, which intimates that there is a certain amount of luxury implicit in choosing not to eat.
In the middle of a space lined in black velvet is a white fridge, its door slightly ajar, its shelves pristine and empty. A gentle new-age voice offers tips and affirmations - "Never eat in secret", "munch on ice-cubes" - which are superimposed on another voice, barely audible, that reads a letter to Ana.
The sound installation is an investigation of eating disorders, and the subcultures they have produced. The tips and letters recited in the work come from websites that ‘Pro-Ana’, (pro anorexia) girls host online. There exists within the work a reference to addiction, but in this instance the emphasis is on deprivation, rather than indulgence, which intimates that there is a certain amount of luxury implicit in choosing not to eat.
Dear Ana, 2009
Dear Ana
Photographs by Chris Saunders