Artist Statement

“Scapegoat” intends to convey the odd complexities of the perception of goats by humans, both generally for all of us in many societies around the world and very personally for me as well. When I was just seven years old, my parents and I moved to the Caribbean and being far from my adult brothers and sisters and my extended family, I ended up spending much of my time at the goat farm just up the hill from our house. The herd of goats and the hillside itself were owned by an old man named Mr. Gervais, who had suffered terrible burns to his face as a child and avoided social interaction but loved spending time with his animals. The neighborhood kids and I joined him in his routines of feeding the goats, nursing the young ones, caring for the sick ones, and even ending the lives of the ones that could not be saved. From morning to dawn I would follow the herd, sometimes into the deeper parts of the woods up the mountain, far from home. They played an important part of my daily life and as years went by, I gradually also came to know that they were seen in strange ways by our cultural traditions. The symbolism for the goat changes in various areas around the world, some represent stubborn independence, lust, and strength, others as shyness, gentleness, fertility, and spiritual purity, and yet also a symbol of the demonic. Among the earliest domesticated animals, goats have been alongside us for millennia in all their strangeness and familiarity, looking at us through their uniquely squared pupils and being judged by us for their strangely human traits.

Scarlett Parish

About the Artist

Born in New York City and raised on the small Caribbean Island of Saint Barthelemy, Scarlett Parish began showing interest in filmmaking at an early age. Fascinated by the process of reenactment of scenes and the art of storytelling, Scarlett finds in her creations both a route for her imaginative vision and a means of exploring the equilibrium between reality and fiction. Her earliest work relied on actors playing roles with lines and somewhat traditionally choreographed stories; only recently has she broken out of her usual style and begun experimenting with music, sculpture, clay, and film woven together to achieve a thematic and artistic whole.