Almost Out

‘This tape is a confrontation/dialogue between the film-maker and her mother, both naked. The gap between intention and expression is explored as the camera isolates parts of the body, and the women speak of how the image relates to themselves and their body-image. Parker says at one point, ‘I want to please my mother, that is what the film is about!’ The mother looks at her naked body on the monitor and talks about how she feels being produced as an image. There ensues a brutal but caring talk between mother and daughter which is disturbing, sad and breathtakingly intense. ‘I feel that my mother is inside me. She is very happy. I want to push her out, gently, because I care for her and don’t want to hurt her. My father is inside me. He is asleep.’ – J.P.’Made when many women artists were examining mother-daughter relationships, Jayne Parker’s celebrated but rarely seen video is one of the bravest pieces of self-analysis. She questions her mother; an unseen cameraman questions her; both sit naked before the camera. The tape seeks truths, but also questions them.’ – Tate Britain programme, 2004