A trembling figure wakes up in a garden. She rises up.

Phantasmagoria is a feminist multi-channel video and sound installation combining high fashion to the world of camp horror film. The work is co-directed with Tia Hassinen.


Phantasmagoria explores the gendered experience of fear in culture, in which the female body is still widely considered as a common property. We are particularly interested in the feminine authorship of violence and how it presents itself in cultural narratives and western storytelling traditions. We are investigating the polarized dualism of gaze and objectification by using the imagery of Italian camp horror cinema. At the very core of our work are the themes surrounding femaleness and its representations in relation to the untold shame and taboos traditionally connected to women and the feminine. How does the body, boundaries, space and mind form a visual narrative? How does unconscious fear determine one’s actions?

Teaser

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Exhibitions

Dark Matter, Kulttuuritalo Valve, Oulu, August 2020

Phantasmagoria, Kallio Stage, Helsinki, June 2020

Year:

2020

Duration:

4–24 min loop, total duration 56 min

Image

2.35:1, Full HD

Sound

1 x stereo, 4 x mono


Directed and Written by:

Ilona Lehtonen & Tia Hassinen

Actors:

Helena Aleksandrova, Matti Hassinen

Cinematography, Post-production, Graphic Design:

Ilona Lehtonen

Styling, Costume Design:

Tia Hassinen

Music:

Saku Kämäräinen
Sound Design:

Ari-Pekka Leinonen, Saku Kämäräinen
Voice Actor:

Victoria Zolotukhina

Light Technician:

Anna-Mari Nousiainen

Additional Lighting:

Ilona Lehtonen

Fashion Designers Featured:

Tia Hassinen, Ervin Larimer, Sini-Pilvi Kiilunen, Sini Saavala, Taija Sairanen, Hanna-Maaria Sinkkonen, Netta Törmälä

Set Production Assistants:

Aaron Burridge, Sini Hassinen, Anna-Mari Nousiainen

Additional Assistance:

Jo Hislop, Teemu Karjalainen, Mattias Lehtinen, Mariangela Pluchino, Sidonie Ronfard, Roxana Sadvokassova, Sami Sänpäkkilä, Victoria Zolotukhina


Sponsored by:

Aalto University