Here's something beautiful for you
I’m not going to pretend that I have the tools to analyse this video work – I find it much easier to write about subjects stuck in media res. This lack of confidence stems from university; I took an ‘Introduction to Film’ class to impress my then-fanatic-about-film boyfriend who dumped me before the class even began. I spent the film screenings seething at the sight of him and his hot new girlfriend. I never found out what mise-en-scène is or what happened in Rear Window.
I’ve never been so transfixed by a video work in an art gallery as I have with this one. Although most video works in galleries are not plot driven, I get really frustrated when I walk in halfway through and can’t make sense of the drama unfolding on the screen. Usually, I walk out before it ends to spend time with paintings and sculpture instead. My experience with Masculina by Manuel Solano was very different. I watched it repeatedly on loop, totally in awe of the simple shots which capture the artist exhibiting their 1980s wardrobe.
Masculina stars its maker, Solano, a transgender Mexican artist who lost their sight to an HIV-related illness. It’s part of an incredible and thoughtful exhibition of their work currently on at Dundee Contemporary Arts, which demonstrates their perseverance as a painter. I might come back to this in next week’s Interior Scroll, as there’s a special painting which needs some attention.