performance conveys the meaning of the work through the visual metaphor and physical action. Interestingly, I would say that the use of language and text has also been a recurring theme in my work. Beginning with explorations of implicit verses explicit text on clothing, I challenge and explore the language of advertising, which always infers the viewer is lacking or seeking transformation. Repeating an insipid phrase so that it becomes somehow more meaningful or transforming a photographic portrait into a confrontational conversation, I call attention to the use of language in everyday life. Again, particularly the use of language in advertising as it is directed at women. I also use language to connect and bring people together. Through letters, narration and a collaborative dictionary project, I have explored the power of language to define communal identities. We have highly appreciated your insightful criticism on the ways sexuality and health are marketed and sold to women the United States: not to mention that these days almost everything, ranging from Marina Abramovic's ' to Hannah Wilke's , could be considered , do you think that your practice could be considered , in a certain sense? In particular, do you think that your being a woman provides your artistic research with some ? Women Cinemakers
Yes, I do think my work is political. Probably along the lines of the work by Abramovic and Wilke that you mentioned, as it is in conversation with other images, videos and cultural works and it addresses existing power structures. Some works directly address contemporary issues or the current political climate whereas other works are more generally feminist works that address issues that women face and have faced for some time. For example, one of my recent wearable works is in direct conversation with today’s political climate. were created immediately after the election of Donald Trump to protect against unwanted pussy grabbing and has remained relevant in the wake of the sexual assault and sexual harassment scandals that have come to light since Harvey Weinstein’s accusers came forward. This garment reflects the reality that women must protect themselves and their bodies from both political predators who seek to take their rights away and from those who wish to assault them physically. Although it is sad that this garment has to exist, women must now to be vigilant and proactive to ensure not only their own safety but also the safety of reproductive rights. Made from altered ice hockey protective equipment that I used as a college hockey player, the garment also serves as a nod to superhero codpieces and is meant to be worn outside of the clothing. A discreet, lace version to be worn under normal clothing is also available. A work like , although it deals with a specific product (the yoni egg) and came from a specific time Women Cinemakers
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period, uses broader metaphors to address ideas of fertility and birth, which aren’t specific to this moment or time period. I don’t think that being a woman gives the work a special value but I do think that woman’s perspective and voice on a subject may or may not be similar to a man’s and it is important to see and hear both voices and all of the voices on the spectrum of gender. Your performance sometimes convey subtle humour, as the interesting and often draw from everyday life's experience: to emphasize the need of a bound between creative process and direct experience, British artist Chris Ofili once stated that " - ". How would you consider the relationship between the necessity of scheduling the details of a performance and the need of spontaneity? How much importance does play improvisation in your process? This is an interesting question. Since I am not formally trained in performance or acting, I am less familiar with the practice of improvisation, which I do believe is an art that takes practice and skill. I do improvise occasionally in the videos, (the Webisode series is largely improvised) but often I have a set goal, plan or even a script. In my work, there is a balance between the planned piece, the metaphor and eventual execution of the piece. There are times when I have an idea for a performance, but for what ever reason, cannot get myself to do it in that moment. So, six months later, or even a year, the moment might be right. This might be due to fear but it might also just Women Cinemakers
have to do with the timing and appropriateness of the piece in that moment. In some cases, the piece needs to be completed and shot immediately or completed in one take. There is a certain energy or benefit to doing the pieces this way, especially if they cannot be performed in front of a live audience. Shooting them in this way often gives them a low-fi vibe or makes them feel more like a 70s performance video. For the piece, , I shot a version of this in the studio, in which you could really the distorted figured that all of the breads and bakery treats caused—the large butt, the breasts and so on—but, in the studio, act of removing them and eating them seemed less subversive. When I performed that piece in public, some of the visual aspects of the distorted body form are lost but the act of eating alone and removing these strange items from private places becomes much more activated and crucial to the piece. The reaction and lack of reaction from those around me also becomes important. The women in the background continue discussing retirement plans and IRAs. That take had to be done only once in order to capture that energy and those circumstances. Many artists express the ideas that they explore through representations of the body and by using their own bodies in their creative processes, as you did in . German visual artist Gerhard Richter once underlined that " ": how do you consider the relation between of the ideas you aim to communicate and Women Cinemakers
, 2015, performance for video and found footage,0:21
, 2014, performance for video, 10:00
of creating your artworks? I have been an athlete since I was a child, first playing ice hockey at age 4. I went on to play ice hockey in college and I later lifted weights competitively. I still work out and am active today but my body doesn’t necessarily demonstrate or show this fitness or athleticism. Because of this background, I think I was more likely to use my own body in my work and to be comfortable doing so. Even before I was making performances, I photographed my body in a critical and sometimes vulnerable way. Using my own body to create the work and to make metaphors, allegories or abstractions came about at first because it was easy. I was there, I was available and I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I didn’t need to direct anyone else. I do think that because I have largely “normal” body, there is a way that it can stand in for all women. But I am also very aware of myself and my position as a white woman of a certain age, class and background. So, I never start off making a piece, thinking, “this is universal” or “this is for everyone,” I just think, “this is something that I am interested in right now,” or “this is something I am dealing with right now.” I have to acknowledge that it is personal and that it might also be political or reach a broader audience but it always begins with my own experiences. Your works seem to urge your spectatorship to challenge their perceptual categories to create : how much important is for you to trigger the viewer's imagination in order to address them to elaborate personal associations? Once the work is in the world, even if it started in a very particular place and time for me, others will make connections and associations based on their experiences and backgrounds. , that you mentioned in the last question, is a very literal piece that came from some of my experiences that the gym where the instructors often say things to inspire you or to remind you to have good form. It is common to hear instructions about having a “flat back” that someone could lay a platter on. This is just meant to get you thinking about your form. I decided to try this with the iconic and feminine antique tea set. The tea set has many associations and is linked to girls beginning in childhood and is seen as ladylike. I knew the sound it made would be interesting and that I could hold it for a while but that eventually it would fall or I would have to quit. I made this piece in 2015. This year, 2018, this piece has been shown several times and curated in to many different shows dealing with feminism. I think this is a good example of the piece triggering something different with the audience now, with the #metoo movement and and the current political climate, than it initially did when I made it. I think people’s association with this piece Women Cinemakers
have changed due to heightened awareness of sexual assault, sexual harassment and feminism and that it might mean something new to viewers now. I am making myself into the submissive serving object in the piece, but the tea set and the setup is chattering, cracking, breaking and in the end, I just get up and walk away, shedding the tea set and the restraints. It’s noisy but and there is a lot of tension in my body but I think the ending, which I initially sort of thought of as anti-climatic, seems to resonate with people more now than it did when I first made it. Before leaving this conversation we want to catch this occasion to ask you to express your view on the future of women in contemporary art scene. For more than half a century women have been discouraged from producing something ' ', however in the last decades there are signs that something is changing. How would you describe your personal experience as an unconventional artist? And what's your view on the future of women in this interdisciplinary field? It does feel like we are at an important moment or crossroads for women in the art world, as I mentioned my work has been included in so many shows by and for women lately, but we have seen moments like this come and go in the past so it important to keep working to make progress at the highest levels. Having more women in leadership, curatorial and directorial roles is really the most important thing that we can push for and unfortunately, women still lag behind here. I think some of the most exciting, interesting and unconventional work at the moment is being made by women and trans people and many institutions are recognizing this and showcasing this work. The funny thing about my work is that in many ways, it is not particularly subversive, unconventional or boundary pushing yet it still sometimes doesn’t fit within the framework of some institutions. I have had a few situations in which the work was censored or misunderstood but overall the audience response to my work has been very positive. The pieces that use humor make the work more accessible and allow the view to think critically about what I am presenting but also to laugh at the absurdity of it or at the situation. Thanks a lot for your time and for sharing your thoughts, Rachelle. Finally, would you like to tell us readers something about your future projects? How do you see your work evolving? My most recent project, is actually quite different. is an artist book created from direct mono prints of participants’ eyebrows. For this project I enlisted friends, contacts, and strangers, both men and women, to create each page of the book from a unique individual’s eyebrow printed directly on to the page. The social aspect of this work is extremely important. Sitting and talking with the participants mimics other intimate cosmetic rituals like getting Women Cinemakers
your hair washed and cut by another person or getting your eyebrows waxed. The varying shapes, textures, colors and sizes of the eyebrows added visual interest and contrast to the piece while the similarities of the content unifies the forms across the pages. Each eyebrow is like a textured brush stroke or fingerprint on the page. The prints act like a portrait of each sitter, playing off of the scientific analysis of DNA in hair as a personal identifier. In recent years, eyebrows have become the center of the beauty and cosmetics world, with a trend towards a full brow. This fixation and obsession is what I am responding to in the work. The trend towards fuller eyebrows is particularly interesting as it illustrates the beauty myth and shows how cultural conventions and standards change revealing themselves as constructs. Since the 1990s, there has been a marked shift in the aesthetics of eyebrows compared to the present day style. I will also keep working on video projects and short performance pieces since those types of works come most naturally to me. I have few different ideas for pieces lined up and will make them over the summer when I have more studio and editing time. Thanks, I really enjoyed this and I am happy to share my work with you. An interview by Francis L. Quettier and Dora S. Tennant [email protected] Women Cinemakers
Hello Ivana and welcome to : we would like to introduce you to our readers with a couple of questions about your background. You have a solid formal training and you hold a Bachelor of Fine Arts that you received from the Gerrit Rietveld Academie, in Amsterdam: how did this experience inform your artistic evolution? Could you tell us what are your most important influences and how did they affect your art practice? An interview by Francis L. Quettier and Dora S. Tennant [email protected] Hello! I think it is very important to understand where one is coming from, personal background, as it influences the work enormously. I like to say that I understand myself retrogradely as that way I see the flow of action-reaction why-because of that. I applied to study photography in Croatia before Amsterdam and got rejected; one teacher told me that the doubt between other candidate and me was solved by giving a chance to the other younger one, as I already got my diploma, so I was in a way, already ready to continue life and work. Great, there I surely don’t wanna study. I was lucky, persistent and work hard to enter the Gerrit Rietveld Academie. It was like riding a new wave of experimentation, learning, reeducation. Though I believe institutional education is not necessary for one’s path, I felt this study will remodel my perception on art and all I have been Ivana Filip Women Cinemakers meets Lives and works in Split, Croatia Working in mediums from video and performance to photography and installations I confront the audience with their belief systems on the present ways of living and existing and questioning the rightness and wrongness. I use different tools from anthrozoology (human-non-human-animal studies), spirituality, sociological and scientific experiments, religion, psychology, activism, my everyday life and experiences. Prior study of economics influenced me to question sustainability of my work and wish to sustain from producing more objects and material leftovers, to question the full cycle of the material and product of art. I don’t want to please my audience; I would like you to question.
Women Cinemakers indoctrinated to during my life and especially my prejudices toward the creation of works of art. I come from workers family and as children, both my brother and I, helped my parents and grandparents in our family artisan small business, producing small wooden pepper mills as souvenirs. That was such a valuable experience where I learned faire relation work and pay, discipline, collaboration, creativity, trade, but most of all, trust and strength. My grandfather usually taught me about each phase of production and I was very interested, where does the wood come, how the machine work, how to prepare the wood, and so on. The most beautiful thing was the smell of the wood in combination with the smokey leftover of the cigarettes my grandfather smoked. Not so tasty, I know, but those are the flashes and images and synesthesic experiences imprinted in me. I though of studying psychology or art when I was 18, but coming from a small town, being very introverted, and just after the country war, my parents though it would be safer to study economics, so I did. I did graduate in term but study was not without struggle. In between graduating economic and studying art was 9 years so I worked as a photographer on cruise ships, in film distribution, cinema, and then asked myself what is that I am actually wanting and hiding from myself. Studying again with a loan on your back, lived small and very economically, worked as a cleaner and babysitter, and kept it going. So, again, discipline and readjusting yourself always asking - what am I doing here, where is my heart in all this? Should I stay or should I go? Studying art was like going back to that playground, in my 30’s, where experimentation with techniques, mediums and process of creation were very valued, not the final product. One of my teachers told me that they are there not only to teach art (as how can you teach that) but to help us find out what is our path. I love that. Another one was-stay always alert to whatever comes. The third teacher asked always-what is in there for me. From the beginning of studies I was very interested in body-mindsouls matters and the otherness so I started working in Live Works interview
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Women Cinemakers group with great teacher and friend Pien Vrijhof. I will tell you one anecdote: the first time we met I told her about my exploration of pain body and how impressed I was with work of Marina Abramovic. She told me she didn’t know to lead me that way but that she could show me hers and I could decide whether I go. We opened many doors together, from pain body to mime, contact improvisation and therapeutical approaches. She is a wise teacher of life and there I also understood more that creating art and creativity was not separated from everyday life, that it is a necessary element for every one of us, no matter exhibiting still work in museums or just doing it for your sanity. Which leads me back to my childhood experience. As a child I though I cannot draw well or I was not so talented to become an artist; that they are selected ones, probably from highly educated families. How wrong was I, and imagine, there was nobody to reassure me, so growing up with such mind limitations, no wonder it took me so long, haha! But as we know, turtles are slow but live long and wise. You are an eclectic artist and your practice ranges from video and performance to photography and installations, revealing the ability of crossing from a medium to another: before starting to elaborate about your artistic production, we would invite to our readers to visit in order to get a synoptic idea about your artistic production: would you tell us what does address you to such captivating multidisciplinary approach? How do you select a medium and an art discipline in order to explore a particular theme? I am a very curious person, reading from quantum physics to animal activism and knitting. I truly believe there is a knowledge we can use in every spectra of our life and connecting different fields seems just natural. For example, nowadays people, no matter which profession, doubt on relation between art and science; actually everything is art and everything is science; draw an atom as far as you can, write mathematical formulas to explain it, all on one paper, paint is now and then try to dance it or sing it aloud; it becomes art interview
but a moment ago it was science and vice versa; it is a mystery of life. One part of the brain is logical and the other one creative but don’t they operate every single day together in order to create! So, there you have it! On the other hand, I sometimes wonder is there a single one thing I would like to be good in; you know, maybe just video making or drawing. Some time ago I wished that and after studying art, on the academy where the process and experimentation are the basic of the creative process, I didn’t want to limit myself in media but to use the media which is most suitable for the work and which shows itself there and then. Limitation can be useful, especially if you don’t have enough money for art materials. That is how I got more interested in immaterial performative works and videos; I didn’t need extra space for storage or money, I could just use my body, get freed from the material just as in the mind of performance of 70’s. It can happen that one idea just keeps bothering me, I get the taste of it, like I see images or sounds or different elements connected to it; associations, personal experiences, what it means to me, my intention of the work. I start collecting materials and I allow that process to lead me. For example, I feel strong urge to talk about animal rights so I can investigate on the methods of animal activism and use it in my process. Iggy Pop once said “I don’t wanna belong to glam people, alternative people, to any of it; I don’t wanna be a punk, I just wanna be”. That said, I don’t wanna be placed in a box by museums and galleries, I just wanna make art and then, the intention of creating will lead me. I am interesting in expressing my creativity in different ways. We as beings constantly change so that change brings fresh wind and new insights. That influences the work all the time, and sometimes artist stays in one media but sometimes the creative spirit leads you different roads. For this special edition of we have selected , a captivating performance video that our readers have already started to get to know in the introductory pages of this article. What has at once captured our attention of your insightful inquiry into is the way your sapient narrative provides the viewers with such a multilayered visual experience. While walking our readers through of , would you elaborate a bit about in your artistic research? I got hooked on animals in my childhood! Back to the cliche! I grew up with animals, visiting my grandparents on their farm; feeding, taking care, eating, but suddenly in autumn killing a few pigs for that coming winter needs. It was cruel to the bone and it shocked me and shook me, imprinted into my being. As a highly sensitive person this memory was influencing me subconsciously, appearing and despairing, so during my exploration of life and ways of living consciously, compassionately, following my inner senses, I started opening more to the otherness, unknown, and then animals. As a child I even though I could feel animals suffer in a way, empathise with them. Animals became partners especially when I was living alone and being in heavy life crisis so via my cats, my companions, I refreshed that connection and opened up to the next level. I had been researching the human animal connection wider and deeper, attended a course of telepathic communication and animal reiki. Animals are sort of an umbrella, as one of my dear teachers said, to explore the world, my connection to the other. It is easy to get ‘stuck’ with animals; I use the subject from different standpoints, political, philosophical, psychological, spiritual, personal, activistic, plant-based eater… They represent the other both otherness in my work; through them I become aware of myself but I also wonder about their view on all. As Women Cinemakers
Jacques Derrida described the moment of being naked in the presence of his cat, aware that he was being looked up, more than he was looking into. Often it is our anthropocentric view upon the animal we talk about and are privileged to enjoy. Giving them voice and allowing to ‘speak’, I investigate our coexistence, and my personal living ethos. is marked out with such a ritualistic quality and we have deeply appreciated your insightful inquiry into : many artists express the ideas that they explore through representations of the body and by using their own bodies in their creative processes. German visual artist Gerhard Richter once underlined that " ": how do you consider the relation between of the ideas you aim to communicate and of creating your artworks? The physical act is unavoidable but I would say it is all about feeling with your body. In my performance piece I worked with visually impaired persons and their guide dogs and I needed to reinvent my way of working. I couldn’t use visual sense as the primary one but hearing and touch. I also did exercises at home closing eyes and doing things with closed eyes to get the sense of it. That collaboration and friendship also, changed me in a way that I used language to explain abstract ideas by physical acts. It was a vice versa process. Physical act is always present in creation, just as thinking is in everyday life. My body always knows and no matter what I do, it has the answer, touch, taste, take a pen, jump around, let the voice out and sing it loudly, channel it through your body. Our body is our capsule. I do repeat certain rituals in my daily life too, after I wake up or before I work, I like to change them from time to time, try out. There is a whole invisible field of small physical acts around us all the time and we simply don’t see it or we are not aware of them all the time, atoms moving, jumping, merging. Even those moment we are not directly acting upon as well as those we might not connect to the act of creation, are part of the creation. If I work on a performance, I move and improvise more, using body more intense. Through the process I peel off unnecessary layers; that is also physical act, literally shaking it off of the body, sending it off your space, pushing it using physicality, making it louder, bigger. After that catharsis, just like after migraine, I see clearer. There is a certain frustration in delivering your ideas to the world covered and mysteriously hidden in this holy work of art. It takes time, practice and diligence for master the preciseness of expression but that is the play. Sometimes I just take it to the end and write it down. It took me some time to understand that I don’t have to limit myself in one medium to express myself. There, the idea is expressed in the physical act of writing, moving my hand, and previously to that, all that lead me to that act (seeing, eating, smiling, crying, cleaning). In that sense sometimes I feel I should be more clear and direct in my body language to deliver the message of the work but it is always a matter of balance of each artist. It is interesting to know that we communicate more with our bodies that any other way. Amazing but still, look at the Western society today-all stiff from neck down. Do you have a feeling or you feel it? stimulates the viewers' perceptual parameters and allows an open reading: how much important is for you that the spectatorship rethink the concepts you convey in your pieces, elaborating personal meanings? What do you hope your spectatorship will take away from this work? Women Cinemakers
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Women Cinemakers There is an expression that what we are looking for is also looking for us so I hope at least a quantum of that could be possibly placed in my work. I value rethinking but especially thinking with own head. I am not here to direct someone’s will but to open up questions, provoke subject matters I care about. For example, I would love people to take with them slow movement from this work, to invent their creative rituals for themselves. Off course, adopting a cat would be my agenda here haha. Art is a process of rethinking, where to create something, person has to make many decisions. Becoming aware of different possibilities opens up a person and hopefully points to the others, brings one out of a small shell of me me me world. Though visually seems closed and self-centred, I wish to offer that universal moment where someone else would be triggered buy an element of the work; some kind of feeling and being aware of whatever comes out for that person, like, dislike, irritation, motivation, smile. Stay alert! And possibly ask yourself why you like or dislike, what is behind that emotion. Off course, some people just want to be entertained so I accept that but surely I doubt they will watch the video till the end haha. As you have remarked in your artist's statement, your prior study of economics influenced you to question sustainability of your work and directed you to question the full cycle of the material and product of art. Could you comment this aspect of your practice? In particular, can you recognize a bond between artists' practices and the major issues that affect our unstable contemporary age? I am aware of the need to produce in order to master the process and see your work too, but I was shocked by the enormous quantity of materials thrown away by the students, though recycling methods at school are very developed and eco oriented. I would like to create only immaterial art but the need to go back into the physicality of the things is strong. I try to limit myself in the
Women Cinemakers quantity of materials I use so early at my studies I wrote a manifesto where I decided I wouldn’t buy paper except toilet paper and I kept it, up cycling and reusing. It liberated my from the fear of scarcity for ‘art’ materials. It was easy to collect great stuff in the streets of Amsterdam, but the rent was high and space was scarce so I had to find a balance. That is how I started, due to space and money limitations, use more video and my body as well in combination with attitude of protest to capitalistic society. My optimal artwork would include light, space, human body, sound, eventually materials offered by nature; some kind of creating that would be a strong exchange of participants based on energy rather than material object, though again, that physicality can offer such a beautiful moment. With VR today, it feels our bodies become a paralysed home for the brain. There are artists who are very aware of the urge and issues of contemporary society from bioethics to sustainability and sacred economy and activism, for example use of animals in contemporary arts. It seems to me that those are rare in elitist art museums and galleries. Everything is moved by the economy and the rarest it is, the more value people and economic rulers add to it. We know that diamond is nothing more than a collection of carbon but people pay millions for it. There is a lot of ego in the arts and it goes well with the money and power. The economy is about distribution of resources so we see that we cannot continue as we did in this century, with the attitude of grow and production expansion; since all is connected, art is influenced as well. We know that there are artworks in the museums and galleries that never come to see the light of the expo; just so like many artists will never. Who cares, we continue to produce more, bigger, more expensive. Why should I care, it is not mine! So, I ask myself how can I survive as a performance and video artist as I can only hope somebody will buy my work someday, and until then, I will keep on working in a retail selling clothes produced by women in the third world countries, to pay my bills; by the end of the day, I will be frustrated that I still have to apply for funds and aim at 100 rejections per year just so I might attend one artist residency (and feel blessed if I don’t have to pay it myself) and two expos (again happy if I get supported for the trip to the opening). There has to be an end to it and though it sounds negative, it is a realistic situation. I have faith that by staying true to my intention, and getting
Women Cinemakers together, raising voice, things can change. The age is unstable so it is a natural process that will be replaced by the new phase. It happened before. To emphasize the need of a bound between creative process and direct experience, British artist Chris Ofili once stated that " . How much important is everyday life's experience for your creative process? Does it fuel you as a creative person? I agree with Ofili’s quote. Everyday life is very important for my creative process and I dare to say for everyone’s creative process, whether being an artist or a cleaner. All is connected. More and more I like to clean my everyday life from unnecessary things going back to the basics, pilling off of the elements I find overwhelming like nowadays, electronics and social media, too much noise. I like to start a day waking up with a certain intention for that day, be it a feeling or an idea on whatever, just whatever comes first; it can be also a major worry but I like to turn it into that day’s driving motivation; sometimes I succeed sometimes not. I like to do things slowly, aware in the morning, feed my cats, do daily mind and body preparation, go into the list for that day. I try different routines as I mentioned before, and I found that it suits me working with a schedule, but have learned to sense it and be flexible; harmonise it. So being eclectic also in my everyday life, I do different things, like reading, walking, writing, sort of also to sense where I am, the real me behind all the masks, at that point, how that what I am doing resonates with all. I like to thing of an artist as a person who is not only producing art but ‘being’ it at the same time, creating her/his better version, a romantic, shamanistic. Whatever we do for living and in living, is part of us and creates us, therefore, one cannot escape herself/himself. There are some artists selling the idea in their artworks while on the other side behaving in contrast with their preach. I see art as a tool just so as I used cleaning job or any other job as a tool, to empower and discover, and go back to basics. That also means that one had to go somewhere else and explore that too. Doing nothing and being no thing as in zen is an essential part of life improvisation. Wherever and whatever it is in the daily life, is a way to express yourself, no matter being an artist or a baker. There is a beauty in the wet lines on the wooden floor I do with the mop when cleaning my house while the hot air from outside bringing church bells singing noon. It's no doubt that collaborations as the one that you have established together and with Kajetan Uranitsch for and with Nikolina Eklund for are today ever growing forces in Contemporary Art and that the most exciting things happen when creative minds from different fields of practice meet and collaborate on a project: could you tell us something about the collaborative aspect of your work? Can you explain how your work demonstrates communication between artists from different disciplines? Yes, we all need a fresh wind. Being artist can be a lonely job especially at the beginning of the path; writing proposals, producing, getting rejected, applying, every day you have to create a work flow that will support you in this sometimes overwhelming long term endurance test. Sometimes you feel like you are on the road to nowhere. When collaborating, I share all what comes. Not everything has to be done in solemnity of that personal space. I collaborated both with Kajetan and Nicolina during my art studies. The collaboration with Kajetan was extremely demanding as it was a physical peace based on mime, contact improvisation and body work. I often went to the theatrical school where he studied to watch performances where I could learn more about physicality and body rather than conceptual idea of performance.
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Women Cinemakers I wanted to stretch my work further and use an input of a technique as a new tool; I didn’t have to study 4 years of mime but rather through our collaboration we transmitted to each other what was valuable. Kajetan studied both dance and mime so his body is beautifully prepared and on the other hand, I wanted to upbeat my body just so it is well tuned for exchange. I enjoyed it though somewhere in the middle, I hurt my knee, it was very painful and i had to take painkillers in order to drive it to the end. There was a strong exchange of our knowledge in different aspects, and I felt like diving in another world, just because one opens up and share, create in a different context. One goes outside of the known technique or modus operandi and steps in; and there is where the magic of creating something third emanates. Nicolina and I were colleagues, room-mates and friends when we were collaborating. She also got interested in performance and the occasion we performed was for the expo of our academy students in Amsterdam Eye Film Museum. I was slow in writing text so Nicolina came with written text, we started recording and experimenting with text and movement based on what she wrote, and turned into the idea of feministic approach onto the female body. Nicolina spoke about female woman and me feline cats. She is a very dynamic outspoken lady, eloquent, neat-handed with language and words, it was a great pleasure to mix and mach our personalities, ways of working. Good radar for the energy did drive us together. It happened that I blocked during the performance and Nicolina saved it in a way; I just wasn’t use to such an amount of text learning by heart. This exchange brought a power of word back to my work, among other things. Over the years your works have been showcased in several occasions, including your participation to the Venice International Performance Art Week and the show “ ” curated by Gemma Hermans at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie: although you have remarked once that you , one of the hallmarks of your approach is the ability to allow the spectators to engage with the authenticity of the moment. So we would like to pose a question about the nature of the relationship of your art with your audience. Do you consider the issue of audience reception as being a crucial component of your decision-making process, in terms of what type of medium is used in a particular context? I wouldn’t say the reception of the audience is the crucial component in choosing the medium as I try to select the medium that suits the work the best, expressing it in it’s fullest. I did use more video and performance in that sense that both mediums are very open, sort of a capsule integrating different mediums. Performance is for me the closest to life and that’s why so appealing. When I felt my performance became too self centred and closed up to dive in, I open it up, not to please but ‘tease’. I have no interest in passivity but it is different from stillness or inactivity. For example, sometimes you feel the bread you baked is good but some other flour would make the crust crunchier. I feel the energy of the audience during the presentation of the work, I can improvise more or less depending on that. At the moment I feel performance with common people engaged seems as a right choice to go, also to learn when to stop with whatever you are trying to do and confront yourself, say; it might have been better the other way but I did it so let me move on. Audience can be very cruel. Sometimes you feel it the eyes burning onto you, literally their energy floating around, your work; there are many serious faces in the art world and I tend to find myself very serious on occasions. It makes me laugh! On the other hand, some people are naturally more open than the others and sometimes the communication works only with one person so if it is only one, I am grateful. It keeps my fuel! If I see one spark in the eye, in one eye of that one person or an animal, thank you for that. It is a
Women Cinemakers sort of trade but without measure; I like to offer it to the audience and if someone is ready to accept it, it is a great moment of magic. On the other hand, to exchange a word of critique and listen to different opinions is necessary to develop sturdiness and leash on one’s ego. Before leaving this conversation we want to catch this occasion to ask you to express your view on in the contemporary art scene. For more than half a century women have been discouraged from producing something ' ', however in the last decades women are finding their voices in art: how would you describe your personal experience as an unconventional artist? And what's your view on the future of women in this interdisciplinary field? As we used quotes of male artists, it is fare to quote female artists too, so two of them: Marina Abramovic said “Happiness comes from the full understanding of your own being.”, and Isadora Duncan “You were once wild here. Don’t let them tame you.” Isadora Duncan. The future is better than the previous years, for sure. There are many things still hidden and sometimes those who have the power in the media or art, want us being played with, in their power game. None unsustainable system can prevail and it will naturally collapse, though we would rather see it vanishing faster. I see trends in art just so in let’s say colours of the season; so I see also how woman are becoming a tool and resource for contemporary right fights, for some other group’s intentions and possible manipulations. I dislike becoming the part of ism, feminism, as it is so heard to describe what it is today in different cultures and identification with the group can also be dangerous in terms of loosing your won voice. It is true that still today white men dominate especially in the arts. I remember one artists saying but excuse me, I forgot the name, “I am not afraid of failing as an artist, I know my time will come cause art love young gay guys and old women”. Uncommon art can also be used as a tool in our spectacle-focused society. Everything can be sold today, even our feelings. It was a fashion among
Women Cinemakers artists in Paris to stay blasé in the face of uncommon things and I find reference to the present days. My experience as an artist is that sometimes I received critique that my work should open up more; on the other hand I would point on my job search; I got asked constantly how come I studied economics and then fine arts, especially in my thirties. What I see is people driven on fear of making mistakes and paying their bills, not stepping out of their everyday working zone programmed by someone else. Just as our mobile phones sometimes need resetting, I feel we humans need that too. Creating your own path doesn’t allow others to handle you well, place you into the drawer but rather they place you among ‘unplaceable’ and ‘dangerous’, or society very well handles you as ‘crazy cat woman’ for example. We can learn a lot about society by its cliches. I use every work as a small victory of female freedom but I am also aware of the space for improvement of representation and diversity of women in the arts world. Thanks a lot for your time and for sharing your thoughts, Ivana. Finally, would you like to tell us readers something about your future projects? How do you see your work evolving? Thank you as well. I see my work is evolving in the new context since I moved back to Croatia one year ago where any comparison of this city with Amsterdam would be silly. The work shouldn’t be influenced by the financial factors but it is. There are works that just magnetise me and lead me to their manifestation, works that are done but the pressure of pure joy, works that are done for paying bills, works as a tool to engage. There is no mystery and I think every artist is confronted with the cruel realistic notion that playing is fun but this capitalistic world do not want us to be free, they want us needy and greedy for more of the things they created us to want. There is also work that will stay hidden as not everything an artist creates should be presented to the public eye. One of the projects coming around is to use art for healing, in everyday workshops for everyday persons. The potential of creativity and art is in its universal language we all carry inside. My intention is to continue on using my voice further on, using my potentials to open up fields, no matter how awkward and vulnerable.
is a comedy, mockumentary by Jessica Leach about teaching the women of the red light district of Amsterdam to code. Featuring essential cinematography and sapient composition, challenges the An interview by Francis L. Quettier and Dora S. Tennant [email protected] viewers' cultural parameters, initiating them to a heightened experience capable of encouraging cross-pollination. We are particularly pleased to introduce our readers to Leach's multifaceted artistic production. Hello Jessica and welcome to WomenCinemakers: we would like to introduce you to our readers with a couple of questions regarding your background. Jessica Leach Women Cinemakers meets Lives and works in Amsterdam My work is about inequality across gender and social class, and the humour in the endeavours to end that inequality. I like the awkward moments that arise from the clash of different groups and when normal people find themselves in ridiculous situations. These are made in a do-it-yourself way and aim to affectionately make fun of flawed, but likeable characters. I studied animation at London College of Communication and started the group FREAKAHOLICS ANONYMOUS, putting on audiovisual musical performances, combining film, music and comedy, particularly with London film collective EXPLODING CINEMA.
Women Cinemakers Are there any experiences that did particularly influence your evolution as a filmmaker? In particular, do you think that there is any central idea that connects each aspects of your artistic research? A central theme of my work is ‘normal women in mad or surreal scenarios’. I really like the work of John Waters and the Dreamlanders - highly stylised, over-the-top acting from a bunch of kids on a zero budget. I was also influenced by Lena Dunham’s mini-series Delusional Downtown Divas, which she made before Girls. It also features eccentric, outrageous characters and is made in a DIY fashion. One thing that really helped me become a filmmaker is Exploding cinema. It’s an underground film collective in London, which has been running for about 20 years by a gang of middle-aged punks. What they do is a really beautifully democratic concept - they put on a show of short films by members of the public. If you send in a film and it’s less than 20 minutes then they have to show it. After your film is shown, there is a short question and answer session where you are asked tongue-in-cheek questions. Depending on how drunk the audience is, and how self-involved your film is, you may also have insults or jibes shouted at you. For someone who is starting out - with no connections or funding, it really allowed me to get an audience, see how my work was received and to work out what I was trying to say. This is without having to take myself very seriously as a filmmaker or make a big investment in time or money. For this special edition of WomenCinemakers we have selected Code red, a stimulating film that our readers have already started to get to know in the introductory pages of this article. While walking our readers through the genesis of Code red, would you walk us through the genesis of this stimulating project? How did you develop the initial idea? I was in Amsterdam on a scholarship for getting women into computer programming, taking walks around the red light district during periods of frustration and self-doubt. It was quite weird seeing women on display like that for the first time. The technology industry has a sketchy record of gender equality so I felt there would be something so satisfying and anarchic about sex
Women Cinemakers workers infiltrating it. I started thinking about how I would get sex workers to code and the awkwardness that would be required to make that happen. Particularly the translation problems that I would have across class and cultures. Most stories about sex work make it seem either heartbreakingly tragic or titillating and glamorous so I wanted to present it like any other boring job - sometimes fun, occasionally degrading and often monotonous. In Code red there are 3 characters. Melissa Biggs, a narcissistic, Australian documentary maker, Ellen Thornton, a delusional feminist academic, and Maria, a sex work from Moldova. I wanted to make Maria the ‘straight man’ and Melissa and Ellen the crazy ones. Ellen makes unlikely and unverified claims about women inventing the first robots and Melissa is more interested in talking about herself than Maria or her situation. Featuring essential cinematography and keen eye for details, Code red is marked out with long takes and close shots that provide your film with such captivating sense of intimacy: what were your aesthetic decisions when shooting? In
particular, what was your choice about camera and lens? To be honest, each episode of Code red was shot on my laptop camera in an afternoon. The whole thing was made in a very do-it-yourself way. I did want Melissa Biggs to have a farcical hipster outfit though, with lots of colours, and give Ellen Thornton a kind of yogurt-spilled-down-her-cardie look. I would like to reshoot it in the future with higher production values, but I also like the
unprofessional, cobbled-together look of it - in a way to undermine the characters’ technical prowess. Code red is marked out with such a fresh visual quality and we daresay that you used Improvisation as a tool, guiding artistic style: how do you consider the relationship between the necessity of scheduling the details of the shooting process and the need of spontaneity? How much importance does play improvisation in your process? In particular, how do you consider the
Women Cinemakers collaborative aspect of filmmaking? Any interesting stories from the set? I am a one-man band so this is a difficult question to answer. Having said that, I was definitely helped by friends who allowed me to improvise and bounce ideas off them. And also from their support and enthusiasm for the project. I have one friend who is extremely intelligent and academic, so she gave me great analyses of the sociopolitical context. Another friend is just extremely funny and does a great Australian accent, so he was great to improvise with over Whatsapp voice messages. We can recognize a subtle and powerful sociopolitical criticism in your film: Mexican artist Gabriel Orozco once remarked that "the artist’s role differs depending on which part of the world you’re in. It depends on the political system you’re living under". What could be in your opinion the role of filmmakers in our unstable, everchanging contemporary age? In particular, does your artistic research respond to a particular cultural moment? I am trying to say something about feminism and class - intersectionality. Feminism is too-often