You will also create an alternate text-based form of your video essay. This text-based version of your essay could be a simple transcript of your video, but ideally it will also explore the visual properties of text and writing. It might include images or screengrabs, it might experiment with typographic style, or it might make a creative use of layout or printing to further extend your research. This text-based version must also include academic citations so we can identify the practices, references, and ideas that you present in your essay. (Remember that guidance on academic citation can be found at citethemrightonline.com.) You will also submit this text-based version for the Unit 2 midpoint assessment.
METHODS OF TRANSLATING
In the autumn term, I chose to translate this painting by Arthur Hacker that depicts the moment Mary is told by the angel Gabriel that she will carry the Son of God. This event is known in Christianity as the ‘Annunciation’, and has been painted and sculpted throughout time by many of the great masters.
As someone who was raised Christian, Hacker’s depiction of this event was particularly interesting to me because of the way he captures the horror and fear that a young Mary might have felt in this moment.
I broke the painting down into themes I felt were especially unique to the painting, and decided that I wanted to loosely translate one of these themes as my project.
The theme I found most interesting was that of faith and obedience, and the question of whether or not there can be real choice when the person doing the asking holds the fate of your eternal soul in their hands. In other words, does choice exist under a sovereign god?
I then went on to explore ways to depict this theme through old Christian symbolism, as well
as my personal experience as a young girl playing with ‘fortune tellers’.
POSITIONS THROUGH ITERATING
In the positions through iterating brief, I wanted to explore the themes and imagery I investigated during methods of translating.
To start, my line of inquiry focused on how we as humans are ruled by our definitions of god. My iterative explorations began as etchings of different ideas, beings, people, and items we as a society look to as ‘god-figures’.
These definitions were wide-ranging, with examples like Christ himself & Donald Trump to sex & money.
As I searched for references exploring the concept of god and agency, I found myself being drawn back to Mary and her experience with god, and how that experience stands as a proxy for what women today experience under a patriarchal system.
I returned to the original image I had translated and its central imagery: Mary and her choice. I then began compiling as many iterations of the Annunciation that I could find.
My second set of iterations focused on removing Mary from the context of the depiction of the Annunciation to see what story was being told through her body language, clothing, and facial expressions.
I began experimenting with cataloguing and collage as a way to group these different versions of Mary together.
POSITIONS THROUGH CONTEXTUALIZING
My positions through contextualizing brief explorations came naturally as I sifted and rearranged the different Mary’s; as I sorted, I started imagining different scenarios that each girl might be in based on her facial expression and body language.
Then, as I responded to my two key references (“Let’s Take Back Our Space: ‘Female’ and ‘Male’ Body Language as a Result of Patriarchal Structures” and “’A Rank Usurpation of Power’ – The Role of Patriarchal Religion and Culture in the Subordination of Women” by Gila Stopler), I began adding the angel Gabriel into these imaginary scenarios. Rather than being a herald for good news, I stripped the angel of his wings and relegated him to a role that all women are familiar with: the Unannounced (& Unwelcome) Man.
UNANNOUNCED (& UNWELCOME)
Made with a mixture of Marys and Gabriels (from my collection of Annunciation paintings) & superimposed over stock images of everyday spaces, this collage experiment explores scenarios where men insert themselves, unannounced and unwelcome, into women’s personal spheres.
References
Chung, W. H. K. (2018) ‘On Patterns and Proxies’, e-flux architecture.
Hacker, A. (1892) The Annunciation. Oil on canvas. Tate, London.
Lotto, L. (c.1534) Annunciazione di Recanati. Oil on canvas. Museo Civico Villa Colloredo Mels, Recanati.
Rosler, Martha (1966–72) Body Beautiful, or Beauty Knows No Pain [Photo Montage]. https://www.martharosler.net/body-beautiful-or-beauty-knows-no-pain-carousel (accessed: May 15, 2025)
Stopler, G. (2008) ‘’A Rank Usurpation of Power’ – The Role of Patriarchal Religion and Culture in the Subordination of Women’ Duke Journal of Gender Law & Policy, Vol. 15, 2008
Thomas, H. W. (2007) Unbranded: Reflections in Black by Corporate America [Digital art].
Wex, M. (1977) Let’s Take Back Our Space: ‘Female’ and ‘Male’ Body Language as a Result of Patriarchal Structures [Photographs].
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