Generated from powerfully cathartic process of burning items personally linked to violent and oppressive experiences, this audio-visual work raised questions for me about the power of a woman’s laugh. I remember as a teenager being taught to use laughter as self defence, as men who wish to assault you are really after power, so theoretically, if you’re not scared he’ll leave you alone. This, however, can easily back-fire, as the one thing men are most afraid of is being laughed at, and fear can also generate violence.

The iconic witch’s cackle comes to mind. The work also echo’s the witch burnings where 35,000 to 60, 000 women were killed, however, similar to the power of a laugh, subverting this extreme display of patriarchal control,  dancing in the flames refuses any sense of victimhood. I imagine both laughing and dancing in response to violence could be linked to a kind of hysteria or madness by some, especially in the 16th century.