Night
2022-2023
Single-channel HD video, color, sound
8 min 30 sec
The professional burlesque dancer moves rhythmically to the cadence of the artist’s sound poem. This poem melodically emphasizes various body parts: eyes, neck, shoulders, breasts, hips. The dancer’s choreography highlights the contours of the female form, evolving into more provocative gestures until she sheds her long-nailed gloves and heavy makeup. The actress’s intense, challenging gaze questions the dynamic of watching and being watched. The performance’s first half concludes with the line, «Words pierce my skin.» In the ensuing darkness, Chopin’s Nocturne plays, and the stark light from a phone screen casts an eerie glow on parts of the dancer’s body, now bare of makeup and stage attire, wearing casual workout clothes. She collapses, lying flat on the floor, with her eyes and arms seemingly ensnared by the smartphone’s light.
