brief resume
So I put on my green monster costume and hit the streets of Aleppo, shaking hands with man and women alike, waving at passing children that smiled back. Communication was finally happening! But this was just the beginning…
Very quickly this project went beyond men/women issues - it became a sort of soft provocation on hard politics. On one side, cultural, social and gender hardness, imposed by force and tradition, creating prejudice and distance towards the Other, the Different, the Alien. On the other side, a genderless soft Monster, stuck in its friendly smile, no face or eyes expression allowed, no voice, vulnerable and open as if it was naked, inside its frail shell of fluffy fabric and rubber. Vulnerable and almost expressionless, it became the ultimate provocation.
Reactions to this provocation varied from extremely negative to extremely positive. The negative reaction would start with indifference and end in pure aggression, hitting the Monster and trying to pull out its head. The positive reaction would start with smiling at the Monster, and end up by playing along in the fantasy of communicating with the green creature, by shaking hands, dancing together, speaking to it. Admitting the monster in their world, people would become bit monsters themselves.
The Girl experienced the looks and remarks she expected to. Annoying, but controllable. A girl can move away, use her body language, and give harsh looks.
On the third day she put a camera inside a small handbag and opened a hole on it. She walked on the street for hours, pointing her spying device at the face of men, and thinking, “Look at me! Look at me now!” From prey she became the hunter. It was inebriating. She almost got hooked to this powerful new feeling.
Children at the Baath Party Art School painted their faces green and went on the adventure of joining the monster. Women during the debate confessed to the Girl their strategies: look back with “laser eyes” at inquiring men, fantasized about dressing up like a man or covering their faces like traditional Muslim women do, or even putting on a mini skirt and walk on the streets – another way of provoking, an aggression that, like with the monster, works both ways, as one aggresses oneself too.
Very quickly this project went beyond men/women issues - it became a sort of soft provocation on hard politics. On one side, cultural, social and gender hardness, imposed by force and tradition, creating prejudice and distance towards the Other, the Different, the Alien. On the other side, a genderless soft Monster, stuck in its friendly smile, no face or eyes expression allowed, no voice, vulnerable and open as if it was naked, inside its frail shell of fluffy fabric and rubber. Vulnerable and almost expressionless, it became the ultimate provocation.
Reactions to this provocation varied from extremely negative to extremely positive. The negative reaction would start with indifference and end in pure aggression, hitting the Monster and trying to pull out its head. The positive reaction would start with smiling at the Monster, and end up by playing along in the fantasy of communicating with the green creature, by shaking hands, dancing together, speaking to it. Admitting the monster in their world, people would become bit monsters themselves.
The Girl experienced the looks and remarks she expected to. Annoying, but controllable. A girl can move away, use her body language, and give harsh looks.
On the third day she put a camera inside a small handbag and opened a hole on it. She walked on the street for hours, pointing her spying device at the face of men, and thinking, “Look at me! Look at me now!” From prey she became the hunter. It was inebriating. She almost got hooked to this powerful new feeling.
Children at the Baath Party Art School painted their faces green and went on the adventure of joining the monster. Women during the debate confessed to the Girl their strategies: look back with “laser eyes” at inquiring men, fantasized about dressing up like a man or covering their faces like traditional Muslim women do, or even putting on a mini skirt and walk on the streets – another way of provoking, an aggression that, like with the monster, works both ways, as one aggresses oneself too.
posted by Marta Pisco at
3:39 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home