Dianne
(1-4channel, 13min)
On January 11th 2002, an attractive, happily married woman named Dianne Derby was diagnosed with lung cancer. For the next three years, video artists David Hodge and Hi-jin Hodge spent dozens of hours with her, filming everything from her initial, positive attempts to deal with her illness to more realistic assessments as time went on.
“Why not me?” is a video installation that explores the essence of Dianne’s struggle and outlines the strategies that enabled her and others to deal with the disease. On several LED screens and a wall-sized projection—all separated by delicate, translucent curtains—viewers are able to experience the last three years of Dianne’s life. Each screen shows a series of short videos filmed at different stages of her disease. On the large projection, her friends and family talk about her and their interactions with her during her disease. Through the installation, visitors are able to experience the full scope of Dianne’s experience in a short time frame.