You sit in an audience, legs crossed on a pillow, and look at the stage. Tall and lean woman with black curly hair is sitting with legs spread and elbows leaning on knees. On a chair next to her strongly built young man is casually leaning back. Gazing into the void both of them pretend to be oblivious to the looks of the audience. Poses change. The woman unbuttons her green shirt, and changes is against a yellow tee that her partner is wearing. Without making any physical contact slight flirtation between them can be detected. He is giving her a look, she turns away, his reacts by pretending not to care. She then makes initiative to reconnect . After the first session an audience members replaces one of them. Then there is a flow of people that step onto the stage and other that leave it, while the game continues. Clothes get changed, poses taken, looks given. Everyone on the stage looks art-school trendy, you feel like reaching for a camera.
After a small break the task changes. Now people on the stage alter between scenes that depict pornography, violence and family photo. Every pose is directed towards the audience, scenes flow from one defined moment to the next. The ones that depict pornography and violence sometimes get intertwined. Partners do not always interpret each others motives. Family photos on the other had look like commercial fashion photographs. I feel like the only thing that is missing are lights and a photographer that captures it all. Otherwise, the setting is reminiscent to a performance of poses on a photo shoot.
While initially it is easy to get mesmerised by the aesthetics of the setup, as the workshop evolves, the motives become questionable. Does it dismantle the beauty ideals and gender roles set up by media culture or does it play into them by reinforcing? What does the art contacts bring to the equation? Aestheticising violence, that has some sexual indications even becomes difficult to witness.
