Desert States (You Win Again)
2 HD video loops / 3.5 min (L) & 5 min (R) / dimensions variable / 2015
2015, 2 channel HD video loops, 3.5min(L) and 5min(R), dimensions variable.
installation mock-up / preview
"Culled from segments of the Miss USA pageants of the late 1980’s, Robinson’s silent two-channel video, 'Desert States (You Win Again)', reduces and refracts the source’s highly-gendered pageantry to its rawest form of ceremonial spectacle. Clad in bathing suits, state sashes, and big hair, the contestants are individually posed and captured within highly-staged landscapes of the American southwest. Removing all commentary and numerical scores, each video becomes a propulsive wave of relentless camera zooms, gleaming sands, and repeated gestures of surprise and seduction. These seemingly vacant expressions build a silent plea for rescue from the psychic deserts of Americana and misogyny." - Carrie Secrist Gallery, November 2015
"Culled from segments of the Miss USA pageants of the late 1980’s, Robinson’s two-channel video reduces and refracts the source’s highly-gendered pageantry to its rawest form of ceremonial spectacle. Clad in bathing suits, state sashes, and big hair, the contestants are individually posed and captured within highly-staged landscapes of the American southwest. Removing all commentary and numerical scores, each video becomes a propulsive wave of relentless camera zooms, gleaming sands, and repeated gestures of surprise and seduction. These seemingly vacant expressions build a silent plea for rescue from the psychic deserts of Americana and misogyny."- Carrie Secrist Gallery, November 2015