Ishbel Carson

About my practice

My practice involves collaging found footage, de-contextualising clips in a way that mirrors how political speech is now shaped for circulation through brief, shareable moments. Furthermore, alternative and self-referential film structures are central to my work. From Source to Mouth follows the flow of a river to explore cultural trickle-down from political decisions, as I believe the truth always comes out in the long term, but it is the most vulnerable who are affected. In Reasonable Doubt adopts the form of a prosecutor’s argument, using a legal framework, to ask if there would be room reasonable doubt about the 1969 moon landing. My practice engages with tensions and contradictions, exploring the boundaries between opposing forces: Critical thinking and conspiracy, Silence and overwhelming noise, Socially constructed truth and hidden reality, Complex political theory and low-brow entertainment. I aim for audiences to consider how truth, much like memory, is constantly constructed, contested, and reshaped.