Membrane, performance
A thin partition or covering, capable of vibration and selective permeability – this is a membrane that expands like skin while remaining flexible. Membranes can be made of metal or plastic, manufactured industrially, but they occur primarily in plant and animal organisms.
The one-off performance in the seclusion of a forest plays with these properties of a material, using it at the same time as a reflective surface that captures the play of light and shadow from the surrounding trees.
Enveloped by the protective ‘membrane’, the artist’s sensual dance is only perceptible as a shadowy outline. She is one with her body and the nature that surrounds her, yet separated from her surroundings, secluded but not isolated, exposed to the forces of nature and yet protected. It is precisely this seclusion that invites us to this dance, the prerequisite for which is safety.
The stretched fabric that the artist sets up for this performance in the forest is like a sculptural temporary installation in the midst of nature, which she dismantles and takes away again after the performance – she has promised the forester this solemnly. Nothing remains.
In the solitude of the forest in the early hours of the morning, there is initially no direct interaction with the audience. Soon, chance encounters occur with hikers (women, men, children and (domestic) animals) who happen to pass by on their way through the forest and pause (briefly).
During the performance, the artist reacts immediately to their gestures, to their fleeting or direct glances, to their spontaneous actions and dialogues. She does not leave the protection of the membrane.
They move on. A new experience of reality.
The forest has a significant influence on the events. It does not merely serve as a backdrop, but also has a decisive impact on the communication between the artist and the hikers. Nature lends the exchange its own dynamic and intensity.
Soon she dissolves the fictitious space.
The camera is the objectifying factor, watching as an optical recording medium and documenting defining moments.
Individual photographs are shown as independent works of art in exhibitions and can be purchased as limited edition, hand-signed originals.
