Three Figures is an experimental arthouse short film, inspired by the portraiture of Francis Bacon. Using Bacon’s work and themes as springboard, Three Figures explores the themes of identity, individualism and group persona.
Three Figures was screened as part of an exhibit during my second year at the National Film School at IADT, showcased along other films at Dublin’s The Chocolate Factory.
My original statement for the exhibit; Three variations of the same person. Each one warping and shifting into an abstraction of the same figure. All recognisable, but all different. The notion of identity always resonated with me when viewing Francis Bacon’s work. His figures contorted and knotted, their faces bent out of shape, all typically ensnared within some form of cage or ‘space frame’. For my installation, I also sought to make a triptych. Three different scenes elaborating on the tenuous nature of identity. My theory is that we can never truly understand someone. We can only have an interpretation of a person, a projected image. An image that can bend and distort upon revelation. The three sequences I have created elaborate on different aspects of identity.