THE HUNGRY BRAIN

(from Hypnodreamdruff)

Three screen projection, 15 mins, 1996

Hypnodreamdruff begins as a dream related by 'Tricia', flatmate to 'Emma' and

'Pauline'. The dream bursts into life in The Hungry Brain video and the

conversations begin to form an elaborate patchwork of casual observations and

apparently random speculations related to activities of the mind. Although ultimately

the product of Starr's imagination the characters gather a momentum of their own

as contrasting personalities contained within the imaginative dimension of their

dialogues and performances. Their individuality has been intensified through

extravagant language, strange obsessions, eccentric habits and oblivious

self-absorption. In the spotlight is Dave (from Magic), first seen in the club,

holding a one-sided conversation and showing feelings vicariously through

the lyrics of Lionel Ritchie songs. Also in the club is 'Elena', the chanteuse

Starr performs, is an alter ego of 'Mary', herself schizophrenically

divided into multiple personalities with staring eyes ('The 4 Marys').

In the enlarged cast in 'Hypnodreamdruff', Starr has become one piece of a

larger puzzle absorbed into the interplay between all the other characters.