…of the sort of Greta Garbo, ‘Gender Melancholia’, curated by Faidra Vasileiadou & Thanos Makris, The Project Gallery (2021). Fabric, steel, harness straps, metal and plastic attachments. Dimensions: 150x150x160 cm (59x59x63 in)

The work …of the sort of Greta Garbo focuses on gender and its contemporary context, through my personal gender experience and with references to the work of Judith Butler and Leslie Scalapino, as indicated by the title of the work. A crinoline and a linesman safety belt are assembled in this hybrid project, in a traction-repulsion relationship. This conflicting state of the two forms defines the stagnation and entrapment that takes place at ‘zero point’ and which ultimately leads to the feeling of melancholy. Back to the Victorian era, the crinoline was not only a fashion trend and an indication of women’s social position, but also a means of protection against viruses as well as sexual harassment. At the same time, it constitutes a literal and metaphorical cage, consisting of concentric steel circles of gender stereotypes and discrimination that seem to be perpetuated. In this way the crinoline and its restricting condition contrasts with the freedom of a worker who is ‘floating’, depicted here by the linesman safety belt.

Related works: The colour catcher project