Large scale video projection.

Script.

Past Lies involves a narrative that is bought forward through past life regressive hypnosis. This single take work invites us to witness the institutional confession of James Smyth, an eighteen year old Victorian rapist and murderer.

Despite the apparent simplicity of the mise en scène, the constant unblinking stare of the confessor, the stunted delivery of words and the very slight drift of lip-synch create an uneasy feeling as the work unfolds. The phrases that the character uses compound this as specific details are given that seem to belie the apparent context. Presented in a contemporary setting, the words do not quite belong to the image; they come from a different era, sometime in the past.