魔鬼的印记
Devil’s Mark
Video, 06:48 min, 4K, 2024
Devil’s Mark is an experimental short film that explores themes of persecution, resilience, and spiritual power. Shot primarily in black and white, the film unfolds through the expressive movements of a group of witches, whose dance embodies both historical trauma and the search for transcendence.
The work is rooted in extensive research on the witch hunts of medieval Europe and the recurring waves of violence against women across different cultures and time periods. It investigates how art can channel the spiritual force of the "witch"—a maternal, psychic, and mystical presence—to offer a sense of personal solace in an increasingly chaotic world. The foundation for witch persecution is laid in the long-standing misogynistic tradition of religious theology, which accuses witches of leaving the mark of a relationship with the devil, the enemy of God. The search for the mark was an excuse to control women's bodies through prolonged, widespread violence and abuse. The nipples, among the patterns of the mark, are sought out as a special image. The breast, which allows for breastfeeding, the nurturing of offspring, and the bond between mother and child, is a right and ability to nurture the next generation that distinguishes the mother from the father. As a result, this characteristic and ability of the mother were distorted and suppressed in an era when women received more oppression.Set against a classical music score, the film is presented in a 4:3 vintage aspect ratio with deliberate noise effects, evoking a historical aesthetic that echoes the cyclical nature of witch hunts and the broader patterns of persecution in human history. By drawing attention to these brutal recurrences, the work urges a critical re-examination of societal behavior and collective memory.The portrayal of witches in the film draws from both Eastern and Western traditions, incorporating historically inspired costumes and a strikingly white-painted face. This stark visual element underscores the arbitrariness of persecution—anyone can become a victim of mass hysteria and scapegoating. In this way, the film invokes the legacy of witch hunts as a call to resist societal fragmentation and misunderstanding.
Ultimately, Devil’s Mark seeks to reconstruct lost connections—between individuals, between humanity and nature—through the witches’ shared experiences and pursuit of solidarity. By navigating themes of innocence, friendship, and resilience, the film offers a poetic meditation on the enduring struggle for justice and belonging.