Mute-o-scope

Mute-o-scope utilizes an archaic form of media as a metaphor for the continuous repetition of harmful beliefs, mechanized through structures we take for granted. The Mutoscope is an early cinematic device, often used for “peep shows” featuring sequences of women undressing or posing in seductive attire. Images are only visible when a viewer inserts a coin, peers through a looking device, and turns a crank to animate a continuous wheel of printed stills. Mute-o-scope integrates the flip book animation of the original Mutoscope to explore how the mechanisms of media reflect societal values, and carry embedded motives across time. Viewers turn the crank to animate a guilt ridden internal recording of questions commonly asked of sexual assault survivors. “Were you drunk? Why didn’t you report it? Why can’t you remember?” scrawl across my body in bold permanent marker. Writing these questions on my body is an expression of my own patriarchal internalization of doubt and shame used to silence me and other survivors of sexual assault. Interaction with the device is an intimate and solitary experience directly activated by the user. The images situate the viewer in the point of view of the subject, and implicate them in the perpetuation of stigma through their participation. As the wheel turns around, the viewer is confronted by the internalized guilt of a survivor enforced by our societal structure. The work repurposes the underlying mechanism of media technology to expose our hidden complicity in sustaining a culture of silence and shame around sexual assault.