Chicago-based artist Julie Zando examines the formation of identity through the entanglements of social relations. The death of self as the final expression of power haunts Hey Bud (1987, 10:30 mins). Clips of Bud Dwyer, a government official who committed suicide on live TV, are juxtaposed with oblivious young women in prom gowns preening themselves. The lyrical use of repetition intensifies this struggle between Eros and Thanatos. Let's Play Prisoners (1988, 22 mins) delves into the ensnared relationship of mother and daughter. Through storytelling, repetition, and an edgy camera, Zando explores the primal passions that pass from mater to offspring. The mother in this case has the boundless power of denying love to the child and thus establishing rule by absence. In direct reference to the Hayley Mills epic, The Apparent Trap (1999, 25 mins) explores appearance and perception, divining a kink in identity-the risk that difference vanishes when appearance is too similar. Scenes from 1961's The Parent Trap are restaged using the artist herself and Jo Anstey, her "conceptual sister," as the twins. But this is no simple decon of a twinning narrative. Zando insinuates sly homages to the psychological investigations of Vito Acconci, Yoko Ono, and others, as well as subtle allusions to her own earlier works. The "trap" of identity thus falls across generations, media, and the very practice of art.-Steve Seid