Body representation is closely related to power representation. Female body representation under medical, psychiatrical and pornographic gazes is still a legitimized way of oppression, which constantly requires critique and denunciation. But a wider range of control-through-images operations is explored and deconstructed in this program: a colorful counter-narrative of Chinese banknotes to spread and immortalize Mao’s portrait, an irreverent artwork inspired of the royal effigy of Prussia’s queen Sophie Charlotte, and a surreal subversive mirrored iconography of Spanish colonial domination. Icons are not forever. Fortunately. (Maria Morata)
OB SCENA is an experimental documentary short film that takes academic texts on sexuality written by a psychiatrist in Cuba in the 1980s and establishes a link with today's pornography. It is a reflection on the place of social control discreetly infiltrated in the representation of sex.… >>>
In 1999, shortly before the accession of China to the World Trade Organization, the People’s Bank of China issued the fifth edition of Renminbi banknotes, which are still in use, featuring a single portrait of Mao Zedong. The color tone of the largest denomination bill (100-Yuan) has been changed to a bright pink, in stark contrast to its greyish predecessor. The People’s Bank of China officially claimed it was “red” and the bill is jokingly known as the “red grandpa Mao.” Pink is often stereotyped as a “feminine color,” while the male leader’s portrait is supposed to represent a strong masculine character. On the other hand, as digital payment methods gradually replace cash payments, banknotes are becoming “invisible.” Interwoven with contemporary everyday images and historical materials, this essay film contextualizes and discusses the representation of the Mao-portrait on the banknotes and the crisis it is experiencing in the digital age.… >>>
In her studio, artist Suzy van Zehlendorf is working on a clay sculpture. She wants to create a likeness of Duchess Sophie Charlotte, whose main residence during her lifetime was Charlottenburg Palace. But the work on the sculpture turns out to be difficult. While Suzy searches for suitable materials, she gives us an insight into her life, in which the lines between reality and fiction increasingly blur. The main protagonist is "Homo Bankiva," a hybrid between a human being and a rooster.… >>>
As on a high horse sits the motorcyclist proudly on his bike. Everyone else wants to ride too, but he wouldn't lend his Honda to anyone. In this reenactment, mise en scène is used as a means to illustrate foolishness and hubris. Sometimes a sound collage of an arcade caricatures the driver's arrogance, sometimes a Wagner hymn accompanies his rounds in the jungle. Through these juxtapositions, the reference to the lived reality of the young protagonists is established.… >>>