Performance installation since 2016

Bergen International Performance Art Festival - Live Performance Essence, Bergen Kunsthalle, Bergen,14.–16.10.2016

The artist stands on a transparent Plexiglas plate that has been painted red. She wears a costume outfitted with numerous sharp objects—knives, an axe, a scraper—each attached to her body like tools of labor or resistance. One by one, she removes these utensils and begins to scrape the red surface beneath her feet. As she scratches, the red paint gradually peels away, revealing the clear Plexiglas beneath. With each movement, a loud, grating sound fills the space, creating a tension that exerts both physical and psychological pressure on the Plexiglas and on the audience. Beneath the transparent plate lies a hidden message. As more of the red surface is stripped away, letters begin to appear. Slowly, a sentence emerges: “THE DIGNITY OF MAN IS INVIOLABLE.” This is the first article of the German Constitution (Grundgesetz), a declaration of fundamental human rights. Though the Plexiglas is visibly scratched and marked by the artist’s actions, the words beneath remain untouched. They endure. The red surface and the destructive gestures symbolize the world’s many crises—wars, oppression, inequality—which continue to threaten human dignity. Yet even amid this violent erosion, the principle remains: human dignity must not be compromised. With each word revealed, the question of what this sentence means grows louder—until, at last, it becomes fully visible, and its truth is both seen and felt. (Text Edited: Jono Wang Chu)

Red paint, plexiglass, sharp objects (knife, axe, scraper etc.), white lettering, costumes

45 min.

Camera and Photo: BIPAF Bergen

Costume / Costumedesign: Nezaket Ekici

Dresscutter / Stylistin: Rita Quinta

Production: Kurt Johannessen

Assistant: Julian David Bolivar