”I suspect ‘Bosko’ is the one and only name of the elephant in Ruth’s film, a daydreamer who has eschewed the stage and the ring in search of a direct, and intimate contact with nature. This elephant is mournful, wistful; it dreams of waterfalls and leafy glades, of seeing itself reflected in wet sand. It seeks pungent and earthy communion with the landscape its namesake travelled when yoked between the shafts of a Traveller’s living wagon, desires our angry, bitter and rageful Bosko may have nurtured deep in his leathery grey chest.
Macdougall goes beyond such wondering to embody her elephant. Swathed in off-white canvas (perhaps this is the circus tent, entangled around the fleeing elephant’s body?) the gold coloured mask of the animal seems remarkable expressive, especially the admixture of hollowness and hope in its mournful, spray-painted eyes. It reminded me of reading about the fixed expressions practiced by slaves, serfs and domestic servants in the presence of and domestic servants in the presence of their betters, a daily trial of literally masking their real emotions and frustrations.” Mitchell Miller
Miller’s full review of Elephant Test can be read in the Elephant Test and other trials publication, please go to BOOKS
ELEPHANT TEST video stills
Shot on Arkle, various other locations around North West Sutherland and Helmsdale’s Icehouse.
Exhibited in Timespan May-June 2009, the grounds of Tate Modern as part of the Arte Povera Installation May 2009, and the New Art Gallery December – Januray 2010.