Press Release – English Version

We study for a Mistress of Fine Art (MFA)
We are Mistresses of Fine Art
We produce mistresspieces
We are mistresses
We are camerawomen
We are mistresses with old mistresspieces

If the above text sounds odd to the reader it is because three women who do not wish to efface their sexual identity in order to speak and be heard wrote it. Can the above sentences be said within a grammatical and linguistic ‘correctness’ without a change in the meaning of what is said? It seems that in translation – and in the application of a female subject – the written and spoken language lacks sexual perspective. Language is made by and for men. If a woman wants to take part in any kind of discourse she must tone down or even completely efface her female sexuality in the system of language and images in order to become so-called ‘neutral’, ‘human’ – ‘man’. The female subject cannot speak. Her portrait is made by men – visually often with more focus on the body than on the head (as if a separation between body and mind/brain is at stake) – and through appellations where words with negative connotations are applied to the female gender and through a daily use become the norm and legitimate.*
Luce Irigaray claims that the key to equality between the sexes is to be found in a thoroughly examination of language. In grammar – especially in subject-object exchange systems and in the application of gender to words – the status of the sexes are not equal and this is crucial for how we understand our selves and our relation to others.
We are not interested in some kind of power to shift from one gender to another, but we hope that one day the many genders and sexualities will respect each other for their differences, and that this respect will be manifest in the language and images that is met and performed in our everyday lives.

Suada Demirovic, Nanna Lysholt-Hansen and Lise Borup are educated at The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Art with MFA degrees in 2010, 2011 and 2012. On display in the show Hovedvœrker – Old Works by Three Mistresses are ‘old’ video works (made between 2008-2010). Each of the works are –but in different ways- focussing on language and images in relation to gender and identity. What the videos have in common is that they each depict a body – the artists’ own bodies – cropped from the neck and up…
Additionally on Saturday the 3rd September at 3 pm the live performance ‘Miss’ by Nanna Lysholt-Hansen will take place in the exhibition space.

* bitch, motherfucker, son of a bitch, cow, witch etc…

Press Release – Danish version

Vi studerer til Mistress of Fine Art (MFA)

Vi er mesterinder i Skøn Kunst

Vi producerer mesterindevœrker

Vi er elskerinder

Vi er kamerakvinder

Vi er kunstnerinder med gamle hovedvœrker

Hvis ovenstående ikke giver mening for lœseren er det fordi ordene udtales af tre kvinder, som nœgter at blive ‘kønsløse’ for at kunne tale og blive hørt. Kan ‘man grammatisk og sprogligt korrekt’ sige de seks ovenstående sœtninger? Og i så fald samtidig blive forstået ret? I oversœttelse – og indsœttelse af det kvindelige subjekt – sker det nogle forandringer i betydning. Hvorfor? Fordi sproget er lavet af og for mœnd. Hvis en kvinde ønsker at deltage i diskurser må hun nødvendigvis udviske sit køn – sprogligt og visuelt – og blive såkaldt ‘neutral’ (mandlig). Der er sœtninger, sammenhœnge, diskurser hvori det kvindelige subjekt ikke kan tale. Hendes portrœt tegnes af eller gennem mœnd: visuelt ofte med mere fokus på krop end hoved (hvis disse – krop og sind/hjerne – absolut skal adskilles) og sprogligt gennem appellationer hvor ord, der har negative betydninger i forhold til det kvindelige køn, bruges i flœng og derfor bliver ‘normalen legitimt’. *
Luce Irigaray hœvder at nøglen til ligestilling mellem kønnene ligger i sprogets kerne: Ords tildeling af køn og grammatisk fordeling af objekt og subjekt er ikke lige betydningsmœssigt, og dette er afgørende for hvordan vi opfatter os selv og vores relationer til andre.
Vi er ikke interesserede i, at en form for magt skal skifte side (fra det ene køn til det andet), men at vi kan deltage i og prœge og forme verden uden at skulle iklœde os en mandlig ham. At en gensidig respekt for forskellighed – de mange køn og sexualiteter imellem – en dag vil vœre mulig.

Suada Demirovic, Nanna Lysholt-Hansen og Lise Borup er uddannede på Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi med AFGANG (MFA) i henholdsvist 2010, 2011 og 2012. På udstillingen Hovedvœrker – Old Works by Three Mistresses viser de ‘gamle’ videovœrker (2008-2010), som på hver deres måde sœtter sprog og billeder i relation til køn -og identitetsdannelse. Fœlles for videoerne er, at man i hver af dem ser en krop – kunstnerindernes egne – beskåret fra halsen og op. Derudover vil man lørdag d. 3 september kl 15.00 kunne opleve live performancen ‘Miss’ af Nanna Lysholt-Hansen.

* luder, bitch, motherfucker, son of a bitch, heks, kœlling. so osv…

www.nannalysholt.dk