Sleeples Woman
The viewer is confronted with an intimate situation. The projection on the wall shows a black background and in front of it a life-size, red bed from the side. A blonde woman is lying on the bed under a yellow sheet, tossing and turning. She is trying to find the perfect sleeping position with her eyes closed.
The steady purring of a cat comes from the direction of the video beamer. Is it this almost mechanical, grating sound that is keeping her awake? The sounds change depending on the presentation location. None of the sounds underlines the image, but instead, contrasts it and oscillates between the poles of peace and agitation, security and threat. The purring of a cat is generally a sign for feeling comfortable in a situation, but in the context of the sleeping woman, it may be interpreted as a disruption to peaceful sleep. In the same way, the crackling of a fire can just as much stand for a cozy fire in the fireplace as it can for a fire which destroys everything in its path. A regular ticking can stem from a normal alarm clock just as much from a time bomb.
This work premiered in the "Face to Face" exhibition in the basement of the Galerie Gabriele Rivet Köln (Cologne), from October 30 - December 21, 2002. In addition to the sleepless woman, there is also a "SLEEPLESS MAN" lying on a blue bed, tossing and turning.
Actress: Christiane Schoenen