THE BATTLE WITHIN: a representation of insecurities due to female body standards


Designer, Modelmaker, Director: Mara Matagne 


Coming into the  final year of my degree, my intention was to create a major project that would project a theme that I consider important in today's society: insecurities due to female body standards.

The objective for this project is for it to be a critique of societal beauty standards and its consequences on any person identifying as a woman. It will relay the message that we are all similar in our insecurities; no individual is alone. In doing so, my hope is for the project to impact the viewer on an emotional level.

This short film represents the mental battle any person identifying as a woman has with her/their self when faced with their physical insecurities. 

The dancer will enter her mental void and dance, as well as interact with an articulated figurative prop of herself. 
Fungus-inspired action props are growing off of the figurative effigy in areas that may harbour insecurities.
Fungi’s beauty, yet parasitic relationships with their hosts represent the toxic standards we are confronted with. 
The intimate, interactive dance she displays with her self-conscious depicts these mental battles as constant impediments on our everyday lives. The manipulated fungi represents our personal wins and losses as these insecurities grow and dissipate within us.


Articulated Figurative Prop: 

Techniques: life casting, silicone moulding, foam casting, armature engineering, foam carving, top coating 
Materials: jesmonite ac730 marble, jesmonite ac100, fiberglass tissue, silicone, alginate, plaster bandages, polyurithane expanding foam, wood, metal rods 


Fungus Action Props

Techniques: Sculpting, plaster moulding, silicone casting, silicone painting (airbrushing), vacforming 
Materials: plastiline, plaster, silicone, novox, psychopaint, silicone pigments, flock, rubber glass

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  • Desginer/Modelmaker/Director: Mara Matagne
  • Producer/AD: Thomas Purdy
  • Co Director: Ian Fallon
  • Director of Photography: Katelyn Markham O’Halloran
  • Gaffer: Filip Slanina
  • 1st AC/Best Boy: Bornil Anurag
  • Production Designer: Rosie Kennedy
  • Editor: Sthiti Padhy
  • Graphic Designer: Rory Foster 




Using Format