The Marasmus is part of an installation that incorporates the original video and paintings. The different components show a girl who is stuffing hair into her mouth, ‘eating’ it. The title is a medical term that refers to a condition of decay and loss of strength. In this context it hints to Samson, the mythical figure who according to biblical account was given supernatural strength by God. He was betrayed by the woman he fell in love with. She discovered the secret of Samson’s strength and cut his locks, rendering him weak and vulnerable. The hair as symbol of strength. In my installation a young woman is trying to eat her hair. But her locks keep falling from her mouth. It symbolizes the woman’s struggle for emancipation, gender equality, sexual liberation… There is a male bias and a male priority generally present in both the private and public life of women. The biblical stereotype of the woman — defect in active power, wicked, subordinate, slave, whore, something that belongs to your neighbour… — has not changed much today. A woman is still regarded the simple-minded, emotional and domesticated female, or a sexual commodity. Pop culture reflects stereotypical roles and the woman is labeled with derogatory misogynous terms — some of explicit sexual nature… to the extent that terms as ’bitch’ or ’slut’ have become accepted courtesy titles. Acceptance and resignation. The video in itself is not confronting or accusatory. The woman in the video doesn’t seem even militant or determined. She looks almost cute as she struggles with the undertaking. The sweet voice reciting the ‘Lorem Ipsum’ reflects the idea that any reasoning from her part will be as meaningless as a filler text. Cute, struggling, subordinate… Prejudice in disguise is not easy to shed.

Performance by Suhua, © Music based on a track by Anna Hefetz, ‘Lorem Ipsum’ read by Esca.

The Fraymaker was filmed on a ferry so small it could carry about 6 people maximum. It was rocking on calm waters. The video has a melancholy yet cosy companionable aura. The image clashes with its title which refers to confrontation and battle. The fray hints to the wear and tear of life, and our fear for the chthonic Brimo. The ferry across symbolizes the transition to the afterlife. The two windows are the eyes of the mortal. It is dark and cold out. The ferry doesn’t seem to go forward. Yet there is no turning back either. No escape, despite the presence of the musicians who represent the Orphic aspect. The rocking can be interpreted as soothing, threatening or even hypnotizing, depending on the viewer’s acceptance of fate and death. As “The Maramus”, this video questions acceptance and resignation. Yet, if you listen carefully you can hear the faint throbbing of the boat’s engine which resembles a heartbeat and pulsates towards life. It suggests the myth theme of not looking back. If you don’t look back or dwell, you can overcome.

The video was part of the “Ik wordt” exhibition of Johan De Wilde, Voorkamer, Lier, 2013