Performance and Video ca. 45 Minuten, 2023 Nürnberg

This video-performance piece centers around a looping video projection featuring close-ups of iconic animated villains—figures like Maleficent and Ursula. The footage is slowed down and
zoomed in, capturing the fleeting moments when these characters blink. Stripped of dialogue and menace, their expressions soften, and they appear to be slowly falling asleep. The accompanying soundscape—a gentle blend of ambient tones and relaxation music—further lulls the viewer into a state of stillness. In front of the projection, three performers move gently through a series of quiet, meditative actions.

Dressed in hand-crafted costumes that echo the color palettes and aesthetics of the villains onscreen— shades of deep red, acid green, and soft purple—they engage in acts of selfcare.
They sleep, apply face masks, tend to their nails, and rest beneath silk eye-pads. These private rituals unfold in public, offering a tender counter-image to the spectacle of villainy. By juxtaposing the trope of the villain with acts of care, the work challenges the ways in which society flattens complex characters—particularly those coded as queer, feminine, or other—into symbols of threat or deviance. Through this lens, self-care becomes both a coping mechanism and a fragile form of resistance. At the same time, the piece questions the limits of individual wellness practices within larger systems of harm. It invites viewers to consider what happens when care is no longer framed as personal healing, but as collective necessity. In this slowed-down world, even the most feared figures are allowed to rest.

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