cammie mulligan - Karin's Wishes

Film.

This installation contains imagery and themes related to sexual violence, including depictions of rape and trauma. Viewer discretion is advised. Resources and support are available for those affected by these topics.

“Karin’s Wishes” is a video installation that serves as a memorial for the wishes that haven’t come true. Drawing from 20th-century films, the work reclaims the overlooked and often silenced roles of women in early cinema, centering on the emotions of loneliness, isolation, and the trauma of sexual violence. These emotions, while deeply personal, echo a collective experience that spans generations, as women are continually subjected to harm, both on-screen and in real life.

The title Karin’s Wishes is pulled from the lead in Ingmar Bergman’s The Virgin Spring, in which Karin opens her arms and expresses her, “big, wonderful dreams,” moments before her tragic rape and death. Her journey to deliver virgin candles to the church is steeped with innocence and shattered by violence. At its core, Karin’s Wishes asks: How do we continue through life knowing that we, our sisters, and our daughters, are at constant risk of violence at the hands of those around us? By recontextualizing fragments of forgotten films, the installation invites viewers to confront the painful reality that many wishes for safety, autonomy, and peace remain unfulfilled.

Globally, 1 in 3 women experience some form of physical or sexual violence in their lifetime, a staggering and tragic reminder that the stories represented in cinema are often reflections of real life. Karin’s Wishes memorializes those unspoken desires for freedom and security, bringing to light the enduring resilience of women, while mourning the dreams and futures that are forever altered by violence.

If you or someone you know has been affected by sexual violence, help is available:

Sexual Assault Centre (Canada): 1-800-726-2743

Exhibition at Art Circuit Hamilton. 2024.