Rineke Dijkstra at ACCA

Rineke Dijkstra's three channel HD video I See a Woman Crying (Weeping Woman) (2009-2010) is currently part of ACCA and Melbourne Festival's exhibition 'Ourselves'. The 12 minute video records the reactions of nine school children as they look at and consider Picasso's Weeping Woman, at the TATE Liverpool. At first the three screens collectively show the group of children, throughout the video the screens change to show (generally) the child wo is speaking as a close up and all the others on the other screens. The children begin with basic observations about the actual painting and what they can literally see; a woman crying, the different colours and how the colours look like sad colours, the different shapes that make up the face and other general comments. As the video progresses, the children come up with various stories about the woman, reasons for why she is crying, where she is, and the situation she is in. For instance: she is at a funeral, she has seen a ghost, she regrets something she has done, she is lonely, she has a bad past, she is shunned by her town, she is 'just mental', her husband has died, they are actually tears of happiness. The video ends with the children looking at the painting, which is never shown on screen.

This is a very interesting video, as not only does the viewer get an insight into how these children perceive one of Picasso's most famous works, but the viewer also gains and insight into the dynamic of the group. It is interesting to watch how the group of childern interact with each other, how after a while you can pick up who is more likely to give their opinion straight away, and who gets spoken over more than others, and who speaks over others. It is a very interesting comment on social interaction of children in a different environment.

Rineke Dijkstra. I See a Woman Crying (Weeping Woman) (2009-2010)