The woman who unmasked the forger | Video Commission

Between 2016 and 2017, I was commissioned by Know It Wall to create a series of short films translating academic research into accessible, visually engaging narratives. This film adapts a text by Mary Wellesley about a 19th-century forger of medieval art whose fabrications have, paradoxically, become more valuable since being exposed as fakes. Using sliding frames, animated cut-out figures, and an evolving soundscape, the film unfolds as a visual detective story, following the woman who uncovered the deception. The work combines historical research with a handmade visual language, transforming a complex academic text into an accessible narrative without losing its intrigue.
Mary is a medieval culture scholar at UCL and the British Library whose current research focuses on 15th-century literary manuscripts. As a freelance writer, her work has appeared, among others, in the 'Times Literary Supplement', 'London Review of Books' and 'Lapham’s Quarterly'.

DIRECTOR / EDITOR Katya Lachowicz WRITER / NARRATOR Mary Wellesley VOICEOVERS Vidish Athavale ANIMATION / AUDIO Katya Lachowicz SPECIAL THANKS
Jisc