Julika Rudelius (1968)
Julika Rudelius holds fact and fiction in the palm of her hand. She points her camera at everyday events all around us seemingly with abandon. After observing an event, like people meeting each other or having a conversation, she reconstructs it, asking her 'role-players' to play out that situation or talk about their motivations. Only then does she film them.
Rudelius' video works give a curious perspective on human behaviour. What drives them and what role models do they measure themselves against? Young men on a train speaking plainly about their sexual experiences. Career-makers pacing restlessly in a cheerless office and talking about what money means to them. Or aging American ladies at the edge of the pool discussing the endless pursuit of happiness. Barely ten years ago, each and every one of these subjects is something that would only have been discussed behind closed doors, but today is the makings of a healthy dose of reality TV. Rudelius films her role-players brazenly but keeps a tight grip on the directorial reins of the scene and the subject matter. Her manipulation is subtle but ultimately goes so far that the viewer's credulity is tested.
