The Ted Bundy Project

After making a series of earlier works rooted in autobiographical storytelling—often described as nostalgic, even sweet—I found myself wanting to explore something that unsettled that tone. I wanted to see if the intimacy and loveliness of those previous performances could be used in the service of something darker, more uncomfortable.

In November 2012, I came across the confession tapes of Ted Bundy, the American serial killer, rapist and necrophile. I couldn’t stop listening.

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The Ted Bundy Project began with a morbid curiosity and became an exploration of the slipperiness of charm, the label of ‘monster’ and the tension between attraction and revulsion.

I have a wig, a bit of rope, a few YouTube videos, and Bundy’s confession tapes. Come hear what I have to say.

“Of course this isn't really a show about Ted Bundy. It's a piece about our fascination with violence, murder and gore. It's about why we remember Bundy, but not the names of the many women he killed. Wohead tells us in detail about an online video depicting a graphic murder and mutilation. He shows us a reaction video of teenage boys watching the murder, their faces shining with a mix of excitement, disgust, glee and horror. One is repeatedly sick but keeps on watching. Just as we keep on watching and listening to Wohead. Yes, it's problematic, deliberately so – but that's because this difficult, slippery show makes us face up to our morbid fascination, a fascination that we share with Bundy himself.”

Lyn Gardner, The Guardian