A Cenotaph
2025
Single-channel HD video, 09:49
Combining the aesthetic conventions of true crime entertainment with speculative architectural renderings, the short film A Cenotaph explores how we visualize our greatest fears and dreams in contemporary culture. Grounded in an essay narrated by the artist, the film discusses topics ranging from her personal connection to a crime in a suburban “dream home” to her ongoing fascination with Étienne-Louis Boullée’s unrealized design for Isaac Newton’s cenotaph. It suggests that architecture, both imagined and real, reveals the unstable structure of our personal belief systems.
Written and Directed by Allyson Packer
Score composed by Nick Bentz
Animations by Sophie Nichols
Cinematography by Jesse Fisher
Research and Production Assistance by Hissam Effendi and Ava Wang
