The need for self-optimization and the resulting interdependencies between promises of salvation of specific consumer culture and the “belief forms” of today – for instance esoteric movements or New Age spiritualism – serve as starting points for the work of Shana Moulton (born 1976 in Oakhurst CA, lives and works in California). Products from the wellness, health and beauty sector that are geared toward female consumers in particular, but also decorative and utility items from the household, aisle as protagonists and extras for her narrative videos and installations in which she herself appears as a character. In her videos, Moulton navigates a psychedelic universe of self-healing gadgets and products that have sprung to life. Moulton’s imagery employs cheap visual effects and the ever-visible use of green-screen technology, recalling both do-it-yourself home videos and the seductive and soothing language of advertising or music videos. The visual language of repetitive and hallucinatory images, as well as the ongoing, clip-like narrative flow, also reference the world of American television and film, such as the Disney-extravaganza Fantasia (1940), which first became popular only number of years after it was made together with mind-altering drug experiences, or David Lynch’s legendary TV-series Twin Peaks.

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