In The Swan Tool, video artist Miranda July combines video, performance, music and helium in a ‘live film’ about a woman who works for an insurance company. The story unites the earthly and bizarre with a surprising humour and unusual clarity. Lisa (played by July) cannot decide whether she wants to live or die. She digs a hole in her garden and buries herself. Then she tries to carry on with her life, but the thing she left behind in the garden just won’t die and she can’t forget it either. July finds herself literally in the film; she amalgamates with the medium when she stands between the two screens and, for instance, ‘moves’ a chair with her hand. The video images vary from photo-realism to abstract amorphous colour combinations. The live accompaniment by DJ Zac Love adds a third dimension to this complex story.
