Glitched Marriage, Lost Woman

Marriage to me is a confusing thing, I fear it as much as I observe my parents' marriage and witness my mom's perpetual unhappiness. Consequently, I realised at an early age that marriage functions as a cage, causing women to gradually lose themselves in the burden of domestic labours. Upon entering matrimony, a woman's subjectivity is lost and downgraded to merely being someone's wife and, later, someone's mother. Once bound by a heteronormative nuclear family, escape becomes an elusive prospect.
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In this mini project, I repurposed discarded DV footage of Chinese weddings dating back approximately 10 years, which I purchased during their disposal. I selected a specific frame as the foundational image for this project, wherein the photographer applied a mirrored filter, creating a symmetrical effect, as if the bride is gazing into a mirror, her countenance reflecting confusion and happiness simultaneously. Using a text editor, I intentionally glitched the image and applied additional glitch effects using p5.js. The glitches are triggered further when the mouse is clicked.
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While the original image possesses symmetry, the introduction of diverse elements disrupts this equilibrium, yet the harmony of a symmetrical image perseveres. Glitch serves as a medium that laying bare the materiality of the technologies involved. I employ glitch to convey my idea, where the bride's face breaks and is disrupted by various shapes, rendering her image unrecognisable. However, she maintains the position of "looking into the mirror," as if in search of herself within the confines of marriage.
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