THE MARK OF CAIN (73 minutes) Russia/USA Director/Producer: Alix Lambert}

The Mark of Cain explores the dying art of Russian prison tattoos as a metaphor of a contemporary Russia in the midst of conflict and transition. In Russian prisons there has been a Code-of-Thieves. This criminal code is directly related to how prisoners earn their status in the prison community, and in turn earn the right to carry particular tattooed images that communicate who they are and their position within the social hierarchy. According to the Book of Genesis, God placed a mark on the world's first murderer before sending him to exile. The 'mark of Cain' branded its bearer as a criminal and a social outcast. In the 1920's, the prisoners of the Stalinist Gulag or the "Zone" lived the Biblical legacy by developing a complex social structure that incorporated symbolic tattooing as a mark of rank. The startling and beautiful images of churches, Christs, Madonnas, dolphins, and bears became part of a secret, political language that allowed for clandestine communication both in and out of prison. An artist who has worked in multiple media of film, video, photography, performance as well as mixed media installations, Alix Lambert is credited with 'a rare gift for tickling taboos with intelligence and humor'. Her deft explorations of the visual codes and conventions that emerge in communities' social division has resulted in internationally acclaimed works like Male Pattern Baldness, a part of Women Observing Men, a show that traveled to prestigious venues like The Museum of Modern Art, New York and the Center Georges Pompidou, Paris. Her video, Platipussy was featured in shows in Lisbon, Washington DC, Mexico City, Graz, Austria, Athens to name a few. One of the videos from her project, the Wedding series, "No Holes Barred" was selected for the 1993 Venice Biennale. Alix Lambert Pink Ghetto Productions 2020 Vista Del Mare Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90068 E-mail: pinkghetto@earthlink.net ______________________________________________________________________ all material ©2002 UNAFF / contact: infounaff.org / design: infocontext.fm