by Lois Bielefeld 2020 Digital video with sound (19:53 min) Collection of the artist “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength,” utters the mother of the artist. A study of duration, ritual, and memory, this video portrait focuses on Sally Bielefeld’s devotional routine. While reciting the epistle to the Philippians, she holds a plank position for over thirteen minutes. The camera lingers on her supporting hands and toes as her bodyweight becomes visibly heavier and her voice turns unsteady. Through observation, the artist contemplates her and her mother’s ideological differences. Sally’s practice illustrates her evangelical conservatism; Lois is atheistic and queer. In her prayers, Sally thanks God for allowing her to help her daughter create this work, one that emerges as proof of love and shows their desire to understand and negotiate the rifts between them.
