“dear doctor M, maybe you don’t remember me, you being such a big star now, but i remember you! i love your career! i have been following it, and i know all your lines. well you stay up late, you go to bars, you see too many movies, you don’t write to me at all! what do i do now? i am lonely out of my mind! is there a cure? sometimes during after-hours — for fun and no other reason — i fantasise about my blood pouring outwards, an inexhaustible current of red that spread and spreads and spreads until it eventually seeps into every corner of the — all over the world! — signed, Shadow & Myself”
One meaning of the word “monster” is a creature who is entirely self-dependent. In response to the theme of “Third Skin” the episode deals with some of the troubles that plague the linguistic animal, who is constantly in danger of overreaching itself and bringing itself to nothing (in contrast to other mammals, who organise an environment for themselves that does not stretch much beyond their bodies). Loosely based on Cookie Mueller’s advice column, and anchored in personal experiences of isolation and exhaustion, the film follows a protagonist roleplaying the onset and possible resolutions of a health crisis.
P.S. from the curatorial team: works that Masha presented at the Graduation show, stuck in our mind as absorbing and at times repulsive imagery puzzled with words so direct, they get under your skin and make you speechless. We held our breath waiting for Masha’s revealing take on our theme.