In the flickering light of a strobe it takes a while before it becomes clear what is happening in the sparse images we see. Still, the absence of images, the blackness, is essential to this work. While the action progresses in its minimal visibility the viewer complements the image in his mind and because of the distance and absence the imagination can come to life. In the scarce moments when there is light we see a woman with long hair. She is lying on her back and seems to move uncomfortably at first. Then it becomes apparent that she is undressing. She takes off her blouse and bra, her pants and panties. She does so while paying attention to her body and her own excitement. She caresses her breasts, plays with her hair and in interacting with her body she is focused on her own pleasure. All the time the uninterrupted sound of a machine is heard, as well as of someone else who gets ever increasingly sexually aroused too. The panting becomes louder and louder and leads to the burning question what the relationship between the cameraman/woman, the viewer and the woman we see is. It is a game on the edge of proximity and distance, of intimacy and absence, of possibility and reality. In Framis' view relationships at the end of this century have become more and more 'technical' and intimacy is a commodity that is being scheduled, like sexual arousal is produced by machines. This tape fits in with her other works on loneliness in the city: excitement in loneliness is depicted in relentless frankness, only to emphasize the distance.
– Carla Hoekendijk
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Assistant: Djeff Badcock
Alicia Framis ° 1967, Barcelona (Spain)
Lives and works in Amsterdam (Netherlands)
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