Dough (2006)

Dough (2006) follows a group of women working together to pull a rope of dough through a maze of factory rooms. An overweight woman at the center of the complex system kneads and guides the dough. The process begins when flowers are placed before her, triggering an allergic reaction that causes tears to fall and create steam. This steam makes the dough rise before it's packaged. The journey of the dough suggests bodily functions like digestion, excretion, and birth, linking industrial processes to the body. The film reflects 1970s feminist art and echoes Matthew Barney’s elaborate sets and surreal physical actions. Like Barney, Rottenberg uses sculptural elements in her videos, projecting the film from a small wooden room supported by dough-filled sandbags.