MESSAGES

2018/2019

 

 

 

 

Excerpt of Olympe de Gouges, "Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen"

Quote of Tahirih 
"You can kill me as soon as you like but you can never stop the emancipation of women."
Tahirih, 1814- 1852, Iran

Quote of Olympe de Gouges
“Women has the right to mount the scaffold, she must equally have the right to mount the rostrum […].“
Olympe de Gouges, 1748- 1793, France


During her month-long residency in Tehran in 2018, Elisa Andessner asked thirty women: "What is your message? What do you have to say?". The questions triggered interesting conversations and shared reflections on politics, human and human's and women's rights. Visions of the future were described as well as everyday occurrences. In detailed conversations, the women in Tehran gave a very open insight into the realities of their lives. After her return, Elisa Andessner also began to research on the history and current situation of women's rights in Austria and Europe. The many conversations, which the artist conducted with a wide variety of women, finally manifest themselves in the photographs and videos presented here. The 'messages' from the women of Teheran, which form the starting point of the project, were written down in Farsi and and used to inscribe her own face. The literally assimilating the Persian language and culture, in which writing is a traditional form of art, was the impulse, as well as the use of naked skin as a means of transporting messages.
The visual language is inspired on the Iranian artist Shirin Neshat, but differs in the way it is created (writing on skin) and the content of the works.

 

Während ihrer einmonatigen Residency in Teheran 2018 hat Elisa Andessner dreißig Frauen: „Was ist deine Botschaft? Was hast du zu sagen?“. Die Fragen lösten bei jeder Begegnung bewegte Gespräche und gemeinsames Nachdenken über Politik, Menschen- und Frauenrechte aus. Zukunftsvisionen wurden genauso geschildert wie alltägliche Begebenheiten. In ausführlichen Gesprächen gaben die befragten Frauen in Teheran sehr offen Einblick in ihre Lebensrealitäten. Nach ihrer Rückkehr begann Elisa Andessner auch in Österreich zur Geschichte bzw. aktuellen Situation der Achtung der Frauenrechte in Österreich und Europa zu forschen. Die vielen Gespräche, die die Künstlerin dazu mit den unterschiedlichsten Frauen führte, manifestieren sich schließlich in den hier präsentierten Foto- und Videoarbeiten. Die ‚Botschaften’ der Teheraner Frauen, welche den Ausgangspunkt des Projekts bilden, ließ sich Elisa Andessner in Farsi aufschreiben und beschriftete damit selbst ihr Gesicht. Das buchstäbliche Sich-Einverleiben der persischen Sprache und Kultur, in der Schrift eine traditionelle Kunstform darstellt, war hierbei der Impuls. Ebenso wie die Verwendung der nackten Haut als Transportmittel von Botschaften.
Die Bildsprache ist inspiriert von der iranischstämmige Künstlerin Shirin Neshat, sie unterscheidet sich durch die Entstehungsweise (Schrift auf Haut) und den Inhalt der Arbeiten.

Biografie Tahirih (Fatima Baraghani)
Tahirih (born in 1814 in Qazvin, Iran; dies in 1852 in Teheran, Iran) was a persian Poet, activist for women's rights and an influential theologian of the Bahá'í Faith. In 1848 she appeared unveilled before 80 men during the Conference of Badasht and gave an eloquent speech. Soon she was arrested and executed in secret.

Tahirih, "Point by Point":  famous poem by Tahirih in persian writing.

Collected statements of interviews with iranian women in Teheran 2018, in persian writing.

Biographie Olympe de Gouges
Olympe de Gouges (born in 1748 in Montauban, died in 1793 in Paris, France) was a french playwright and political activist who demanded the same rights for women and men in France. In 1791 she wrote and published the "Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen." She was executed by Guillotine for attacking the regime.

Tahirih, "Point by Point":  famous poem by Tahirih in Englisch.

Collected statements of interviewed, iranian women in Teheran 2018, in English