Mattress Power, 2015

video, 36:17

Charles Chace

Ginger Wagg

Jesse Paddock

Mattress Power is a film and installation consisting of one room and eight mattresses subject to a painting machine. Shot by Jesse Paddock, the film shows the painter Charles Chace as he tries to paint mattresses while laying on slats atop a three-walled room. At the same time, the dancer Ginger Wagg performs improvised movements within the open room. The film captures the crudity of Chace’s application techniques in collision with Wagg’s contingent, awkward movements. Among several techniques, Chace paints the mattresses and dancer by drilling holes in paint cans; affixes a paintbrush to a 10’ stick; drips paint by first pouring it through baskets; and spills paint by stabbing cans with scissors. Besides paint, the mattresses, as well as Wagg, collect additional detritus. For instance, Chace unfurls tape that has the cumulative effect of restricting Wagg’s movements. These chance encounters are caught in two shots by Paddock—one shot relies on a stationary camera positioned in front of the missing wall; the other uses a hand-held camera, which assumes an aerial vantage point. In sum, Mattress Power demonstrates the inanimate struggle(s) that confounds the intention of the painter. As the film attests, the painter cannot control the appearance of the mattresses. Furthermore, and despite the painter’s intentions, the room accidentally becomes a visually-stunning byproduct that outstrips the mattresses. Finally, the dancer’s performance does not simply disrupt the painter’s control, but redirects attention and becomes a captivating element in its own right.