PONY COCOON Digital 4k video, 2019. 5 minutes, 5 seconds. PONY COCOON is a serene, short film about the cryptic birth of a luna moth from a disembodied ponytail engendered by the character Business Witch. Encapsulated in an intimate dreamworld of gesture, texture and sound, the film interweaves themes of psychology, entomology, and awakening. In PONY COCOON, two doppelgängers are at work: Business Witch and the luna moth. Both protagonists use their bodies as apparatuses for mark-making to burrow out of containment. Shot in high definition macro footage in a color palette of soft pastels, the dreamlike narrative of the film references the classical Greek myth of Psyche, the laboring butterfly wing goddess. Psyche is also the Greek word for 'spirit' and serves as the etymological basis for 'Psychology'. In the film’s opening and closing moments, a metaphysical dynamic emerges: the video screen drips with real honey as both protagonists emerge. Symbolically, the film is also an analysis of labor. Half of the film footage in PONY COCOON was shot by VLM in a hotel room during a real business trip while the other half of PONY COCOON was shot in the artist's studio as she raised the moth in the film. The PONY COCOON soundscape is original and was constructed by the artist from field recordings of Texas thunderstorms, wind chimes, corporate hotel rooms, and a Dewalt drill. PONY COCOON was scored, edited, produced, and performed by VLM, 2019. https://vimeo.com/313789860
