blind

With her performance installation, Blind" the artist Nezaket Ekici refers to the picture "holy Cäcilie" (1923) of the painter Max Ernst. Following the legend, Cäcilie lived 500 p.chr., showing Cäcilie in her martyrdom. The picture of Ernst shows Cäcilie fixed in a wall, where she ought to die. But she survived because of her strong believe in god. Similar to this scene the artist shows up in her performance fixed in a Wall of gypsum. Only her naked arms are towering out of the gypsum form. It looks like a sarkophargus. In her hands, the artist holds a hammer and a chisel. Form the moment onwards, when she intends to use these instruments to free herself, the viewer finds himself in a dilemma. Shall he belief, that the artist will win out and free herself? The scene transforms more and more into an allegory of ones own life, standing for a fight to avoid stranding. Every single smash with the hammer speaks about the ambiguity within succeeding and stranding in our own lives.

Presented at: Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart, 17.03.- 10.4.2007
Duration of the performance: 2 hours
Equipment: 500 Kilo Plaster, Costume, Hammer, Chisel, Spotlights, Assistent
Camera and Fotos by: Andreas Dammertz