Oral Fixations

Oral Fixations is a single channel video installation that evolves over a seven hour time period. The project is a darkly humorous look at a habit of endless consumption and the resulting accumulation of waste. A narrative gradually emerges from the on-screen action that depicts a large mouthed character who dances while flossing its one protruding tooth. A conveyor belt regularly delivers factory-farm fresh hams that the character delights in taking one large bite from and then tossing aside. Over the duration of the piece the hams begin to pile up in the room until at the end of seven hours the room is filled with the refuse of this gluttony. The viewer is encouraged to revisit the piece periodically throughout the day and see how the discarded hams build an oddly humorous environment of waste around the character.

This project was created and produced by an interdisciplinary team of artists, actors, and computer scientists:
James Duesing, artist
Jessica Hodgins, computer scientist
Bum Lee, artist
Moshe Mahler, artist
Jay Oberski, actor
Sang Il Park, computer scientist
David Tinapple, artist

The title offered here is a 5 minute 23 second edited version. The complete seven-hour animation of Oral Fixations is available by request. Contact Video Data Bank with inquiries.