Vivian Liddell

Artist statement

"Whispering Pines" is a ubiquitous, bland, comforting label that likely calls to mind a set of particulars for many Americans. There are numerous associations for me as a Georgian: the neighborhood where I attended church as a child in Albany; a campground in Blue Ridge; and an assisted living facility in Athens, my current home. By taking advantage of our nostalgia and attachment to the landscape, this label—this brand—keeps us buying houses, recreational opportunities, and even end-of-life care.

The Whispering Pines stop motion short film takes place at a fictional campground surrounded by loblolly pines from dusk to dawn. The brief beginning and ending scenes are hand-drawn with charcoal and then photographed as stop-motion; the majority of the film is claymation with hand-made props. The plot is loosely divided into three scenes: the setting of a picnic table by invisible women, the arrival of nude male figures who proceed to picnic, party and generally wreak havoc, and then the rising of the sun and the reestablishment of the pines as the sole remaining witnesses to the preceding drama.

In addition to addressing both the brevity and destructive potential of our relationship to nature, Whispering Pines continues in the vein of my Men series in questioning power structures especially as they pertain to gender and class by examining how branding, everyday rituals, and consumerism play into this power dynamic.