Becoming (2003)

Each actor’s lines of dialogue have been taken out of their narrative context, and the responses of the actors they play against have been eliminated. Each of these pieced-together performances is then paired with the Candice Breitz version of the same one-sided routine. Sharing the same soundtrack as the ‘original’, Breitz lipsyncs the same lines and uses the same gestures and expressions to produce a copy of the original.

This work consists of 7 dual-channel installations. As viewers enter the exhibition space, they are faced by found footage of iconic performances delivered by seven popular Hollywood female leads: Cameron Diaz, Julia Roberts, Jennifer Lopez, Meg Ryan, Neve Campbell, Reese Witherspoon and Drew Barrymore. On the reverse side of each of these screens, viewers will find an alternative performance delivered by the artist herself.