- Type: General Art Video
- Culture/Region: America
- Subject Area: History and Social Science
Following an encounter with a maverick Pocahontas enthusiast in Essex, England, artist Anna Lucas traveled around Virginia in the fall of 2007, using the local legendary female figure of Pocahontas as a virtual guide. Interweaving multiple accounts of the Pocahontas story gathered from amateurs and experts in England and Virginia, Lucas uses the iconic figure as a protagonist. Through her she discovers contemporary realities and explores how our understanding of the world and historical events is assimilated through a variety of media. Lucas’s filming style, though resembling documentary, often becomes more formal and cinematic, playing in subtle ways with audience uncertainty about what is real or fictional. The story of Pocahontas has been told and retold through history, and many versions of the “truth” are now circulating.
Content warning: Images of dead animals appear in this video.
Lucas, Anna. 2008
Running time: 40 minutes
Commissioned by Essex County Council in parternship with Commissions East.
Audience: high school – adult