Cheryl Rondeau´s fascination with capturing "the penultimate moment of orgasm" evolved from a concept during her formative years in art school into Eclipse – a video project that seeks to capture the peak of female ecstasy.

Q: What was your first encounter with porn like?

A: My first encounter . . . Of course I experienced the usual adolescent curiosities, coming across my mother’s stash of porn. But it was until during my formative years at art school that I became taken by how porn attempts to visually capture or represent that penultimate moment of orgasm. Specifically I became fascinated with the representation of female ecstasy. With men it’s easy, there is the ubiquitous money shot. As for women it is another thing and I think this is why the woman’s face becomes a focal point in porn. It is the site where a woman can visually express what she is feeling deep inside.

Q: How did you go about assembling Eclipse?

A: As with my working process in general I mimicked investigative scientific methodology by collecting, isolating and extracting specific gestures from popular film and TV. In the case of Eclipse I ended up watching a ton of porn either on TV or by renting films from my local video rental store. I would scan each episode thoroughly, looking for that moment where the woman is tossing her head back in the throes of ecstasy. Each of these moments were captured, slowed down and digitally manipulated in the post-production stage.

Q: Have you always been interested in the performance of women’s ecstasy in porn?

A: I have, partly due to how porn tries to represent visually what is happening deep inside a woman’s body but also, as an adolescent, to learn how to perform as it were. We learn by example, so film and TV, and the Internet, are great sources to access for those things not taught at school or passed on by our parents. So yes I guess I have always been interested in the performance of women’s ecstasy in porn for one reason or another.