May 2012

May 2012 is composed of three visual elements In the momentary opening shot the camera spies on riverside joggers from the Donaumarina UBahn station Inside a nearby care home two elderly women are eating One is the artists mother She stares into the camera from where a loving hand reaches out to caress her face Finally we see a Christmas pudding decorated and surrounded by candles all afire The scene is reminiscent of the flaming Christmas tree in Angers Fireworks but was in fact inspired by a viewing of Po zakonu By the Law by Kuleshov The flames burn strongly and race out of control causing the camera to become agitated breaking free from its static point of observation perhaps in panic The film is characteristic of Friedl vom Gröllers project to break down the separation between daily life and the making of art being a particularly compelling example of her recent works that meditate on the process of ageing