test10In copyright (not visible)string(26) "In copyright (not visible)"
array(4) {
["txt"]=>
string(26) "In copyright (not visible)"
["block_datas"]=>
string(0) ""
["block_thumbnail"]=>
string(1) "1"
["block_media"]=>
string(1) "1"
}
Paper Ship
| Portrayed Org | Gender and Cultures of Equality (GRACE), GRACE |
| Period | 2017-2017 |
| Description | Description provided by the artist: .This paper ship comes from the interactive theatre performance 'Dreamlands' of Malmö Communityteater ????? ????? ????? that took place in Malmö on 14th of July. Malmö Communityteater ????? ????? ????? is a theatre group made up of people whose identities are made to fall in so-called categories of citizen, refugee, migrant. The ones who took the stage had used their own experiences to come up with a dreamlike script, which invited the voluntary participation of the audience. I was part of the audience. Before the .performance started (now I think about it, maybe the performance had already started with this), the audience was asked to fill out a form about dreams. Dreams we had as children, dreams we realized, dreams that went wrong, right and to other directions. During the performance, the audience was asked to fold this paper in a specific way with clear directions. We all ended up with a paper ship made out of our dreams. Contrary to the popular belief, it seemed, dreams are not left behind when people risk their lives to .save their lives. They are rearranged in the shape of a ship to prolong living, they are the motor of the ship, they are the life vest and they are the driving force of it all. The ones on the stage moved around in white dresses, slowly danced through the scenes, as the audience was given yet another opportunity to process the visual-event of the refugee taking the ship, once again, but with the new suggestion to see the dream that happened before the ship happened.. .Then there was the question and answer session. The atmosphere was heavy with silence. There were some questions eventually, but you know how memories are. Selective. I remember one person within the audience asking: 'what did the white dress that you were wearing mean?'. The ones on the stage responded by saying that it is open to interpretation, and they chose not to give a definitive answer but rather asked her opinion about the meaning of the white dress. She responded by saying that she didn't .know, but some of them looked uncomfortable wearing a dress. Silence. I wondered, and still wonder, what this question means, and what it does. Feeling the need to make a connection between non-Western (assumed) men wearing a white dress and discomfort. I wonder if it was her own frustration to see them wearing a dress, which does not fit into her accumulated knowledge of what non-Western men can do and be. I wonder if it was the discomfort of her own gaze to see non-Western men in dresses. I wonder if she .indeed felt a discomfort, and fished the dress out as the reason. I wonder even if she was sure of a discomfort caused by wearing the dress, what she thought this question would do. These questions about the question are open-ended but, practically, the question ended the show. For me, this little paper ship is a reminder of this instance. The ways in which the questions we ask about gender are shaped by preconceptions, and can easily be comments in disguise with an excess of a question mark instead of opening further opportunities to share. When asked after being offered a piece of someone's dream, they can do more damage than good, to the extent that they end the show.. .This artwork is part of the project Footnotes on Equality: http://footnotesonequality.eu/all/ |
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https://hdl.handle.net/11653/obj2288
