ABOUT
Blue (2019) is a moving image work by Laura Magnusson, shot entirely underwater, 70 feet beneath the surface of Cozumel, Mexico.
Cinematography by Liquid Motion Film.
Production assistance from Pelagic Ventures Scuba.
SYNOPSIS
Blue is the impact statement that I was not permitted to give before the law. Alone on an ocean “tundra,” wearing a protective clamshell-like parka and winter boots, I arduously move, exhale, and burrow through the afterlife of sexual violence. The medium of water, with its destructive potential and capacity to heal, in addition to the weight of an air tank, with its promise of survival and threat of impending emptiness, hold the fullness of traumatic experience. In this silent, psychic landscape, I bear witness to the complex nature of trauma and the ongoing process of healing.
CREATED WITH GENEROUS SUPPORT FROM:
Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design
Rackham Graduate School
University of Michigan International Institute
CEW+
The Family of Elsie Choy Lee
The Smucker-Wagstaff Family
ArtsEngine
University of Michigan Library
Manitoba Arts Council