A Little Death (2002)

Taylor-Johnson renova imagens tradicionais de Natureza-morta: o que a princípio parece ser um arranjo silencioso, com um pêssego e uma lebre morta sobre uma mesa, este começa a se decompor diante de nossos olhos. Em vez de capturado apenas um momento no tempo, o espectador é colocado frente a frente com uma rápida decomposição da sujeita matéria. Taylor-Wood traz para casa a transitoriedade da vida biológica e a mortalidade do espectador. Este trabalho explora a questão da temporalidade, uma ideia que permeia a obra do artista, onde um curso de ação pode mudar radicalmente, mesmo dentro do espaço de alguns segundos.

Nas próprias palavras da diretora (samtaylorjohnson.com/moving-image/art/a-little-death-2002):
“It was interesting in one way to take the idea (of Still Life) one step further by bringing in an animal, and also, that animal specifically, the hare in history, is the symbol of life and virility as well. So it was sort of about looking at that and having the stillness of looking at that. I guess I didn't quite know what to expect when I was filming it, and then when I put it in front of me as it were, so many things were surprising to me. One of the things I loved about it was how different it was from Still Life, but also made it come alive again. The deathly heavy scenario came to life again, and then it evolved into a sort of slasher horror film version of Still Life. A Little Death was more violent. Still Life conveyed a grace in the decay but with A Little Death it was not only violent, but shockingly violent. The feeling of the transformation of life into death repeating itself over and over is so frightful, and after those two works I sort of left the topic alone. I felt like I had achieved what I set out to convey.”