The Victorian Woman has many messages including serving as a political figure. But she also updates the task film in a delightful way. Her costume gives the work a cinematic quality and puts the viewer in a past-present time period. And then there are the tasks, themselves – – brave, funny, and interesting to see.
Richard Bailey—Poet, Filmmaker
The Victorian Woman Flies a Plane
and THE MAN Reunite
Inspired by Dada, Theater of the Absurd, Situationist Theory and contemporary performance art, my performance video work humorously questions cultural norms. In 2007, my alter ego—The Victorian Woman made her first appearance as one of the Gordon Sisters, who were the first female pugilists (boxers) that toured the Vaudeville circuit. The resulting video Gordon Sisters Redeux pays homage to the 1901 Thomas Edison film, while humorously recreating the spectacle of Victorian women engaged in ‘unfeminine’ athletic performance. The same year my alter-ego surfaced again, competitively fencing in Homage to Marey (2007).
In 2011, I moved to Texas from the northeast. My new environment and the current newsworthy gender politics caused the Victorian Woman to re-emerge; this time bearing arms. Embracing the historically masculine aspects of Texas culture, The Victorian Woman has shot a bow and arrow, a 12 gauge shotgun, an assault rifle, ridden a mechanical bull at the Mesquite Rodeo and wrestled THE MAN. In 2014, she flew a plane and reunited with THE MAN for Ball and Chain. In 2015, she went to Nueces to compete in the World Championship Rattlesnake Races.
