Emily Joy Zeller

Myths

These videos address a personal relationship with the natural world, femininity, and coming-of-age in a patriarchal family, while incorporating a synthesized definition of myth to create multi-layered meaning with roots in the greater feminine discourse.

My mother succumbed to cancer when I was eleven. I suddenly found myself with a father who knew nothing of raising a young girl, and coming-of-age in an environment removed from the influence or instruction of women. Though I didn’t think much of it at the time, this affected me greatly, and became the subconscious driving force behind this work. Only now have I begun to negotiate the relationship of my body and myself to others, and question my role.

I create my own unique interpretation of myth by combining different understandings of mythology. I draw from the Greek tradition of using supernatural stories to explain natural occurrences, creating alternate explanations of reality. From semiotic mythology I use the personal and public connotations an object has beyond its surface level, creating layered meaning deeper than the apparent action. From art and poems created by women about their own experiences, I focus on personal relationship with the body, negotiating and understanding myself and my role in this world. Imbuing my videos with this mythic quality allows the objects and actions depicted to transcend their base meaning, opening them up for personal interpretation while creating a connection between the artist and audience.