Go-Betweens: The World Seen through Children @ Mori Art Museum

Link
Teresa Hubbard/Alexander Birchler - ​Eight
Video 3 min, 35 sec (loop)
​www.hubbardbirchler.net/works/eight/
The title Eight refers to being eight years old as well as using the number eight as a symbol of infinity. The looped video has neither a beginning nor an end, and the images in which dreams and reality are intertwined continue with no conclusion in sight. The girl who should be the star of her eighth birthday party stands alone, getting soaked as she cuts the cake in celebration of her own birthday, in stark contract to the sounds of chatting that seems to come from somewhere in the house. This surrealistic scene provides a glimpse into the world of a child that cannot be understood with adult rationality. The expression in the girl's eyes reveals a strength that remains unbowed by her miserable situation. It stirs memories in the viewer, recalling the loneliness unique to childhood and the inviolate freedom and secret feelings that only children possess.