Death of the Author: Journey of a Manuscript

‘Death of the Author: Journey of a Manuscript' is an audio-visual project which attempts to illustrate the process of how an artistic creation, here a novel, passes from its author to its audience on a journey from the privacy of the author’s desk to the very public shelves of a high-street bookshop. ‘Insurrection of the Text'

In this first part of the triptych the author has her manuscript neatly arranged for publication, but discontent is brewing among the pages. The typewriter suggests that the book still follows the conventions of belonging to a single author, but the manuscript is suddenly released into a joyous protest dance, almost as if attacking the author. This sudden storm in black-and-white symbolises the surrendering of ownership for both this particular author, and also for the artist in general as an individual human creator.

‘Death of the Author’. This is actually the second part of the series despite standing to the right of the central tableau. The manuscript of the novel morphs from soft pages to hardcover book, from artist’s desk to bookshop window, and ultimately from a flexible script to the rock heaviness of a tombstone. This represents a painful disconnection from the author, a tearing of the spirit from the body, and a transfer of power from author to reader. The smoking cigarette shows one last attempt at sharing togetherness, while the monolithic slab of the tombstone memorializes the creator through its basic text which recalls the manuscript in its original state.