MASKENBALL is a short film about critical whiteness in the arts and in life in general. It was meant to be a project about LGBTQIA+ stories from refugees and me reflecting those and putting them in a context with my artwork.
Along the research I found it more and more problematic to use my white voice and body to illustrate a very diverse range of people. I thought to myself: Who am I to tell other people’s stories and put my stamp on them?
All this has lead me to use Tchaikovskys Swan Lake, entrance of the swans, whiteness par excellence, for this short film. At the same time I used a pink mask to cover my face most of the time and a long dress to cover most of my body, at the same time uncovering my body and playing with the stigma of shame, showing your genitals and your skin color in certain situations.
I reflect upon how we as white artists, although I’m an immigrant as well, can be more cautious of taking non-white topics and heritage as an inspiration for our works. I’ve come to the conclusion that this is nearly impossible without being unrespectful and being a modern colonialist.
7 min / DIGITAL / COLOR / GERMANY / GERMAN / SUBTITLES: NONE
FUNDED BY
Künstlerstipendium des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen
MADE POSSIBLE WITH
Residency at Freiraum Düsseldorf