Michelle Handelman
Dorian, a cinematic perfume
2009-2012
Michelle Handelman, Dorian, a cinematic perfume, 2009-2012. (Video Still).
In Michelle Handelman’s Dorian, a cinematic perfume, video is used as a community gatherer, a tool to speak about particular subcultures, in this case the trans-gender drag queen New York community, past and present. Developed from a literary work, it deconstructs notions of narrative forms, styles and conventions. It is a hybrid piece, an example of the elasticity of the medium.Performance rules in the work and so does presence, theatrical presence, with the invitation to cast the performers as themselves, to bring to the work their own making this work a very fascinating manifestation of a true collaboration with the erasure of authorship.
Michelle Handelman’s video, installation, live performance, and photography works analyze the human sublime in terms of its excess and dullness, providing a sneak peek into a jewel thief’s therapy sessions or following the life of a famous drag queen who experiences her own narcissistic destruction due to her increasing fame. Coming of age during the AIDS crisis and Culture Wars of the 1990s, the artist exposes the complicated spaces in which queer identities exist and transform, questioning the role of gender, race, class, and sexuality. Her works narrate tales of a dark human subconsciousness, putting her spotlight on outsiders and marginalized individuals. Raising philosophical questions around human existence, her characters function to uncover human fears in relation to sexuality, death, and chaos. Her video installations produce visual and psychological sensations for the viewers, inviting them to take part in these narratives. In this way, Handelman invites the viewers to question their own existence, identity, and experiences related to survival and belonging.