back to the overview I deutschsprachige Version des Textes Dana Venezia’s video installation opens with the force, speed and noise of a car race in the USA. A thrilling male voice off-screen explains what is happening on the racetrack. Cut. We look at the black screen and hear loud breathing. In her three-channel video installation, Dana Venezia addresses the search for one’s own identity in the context of gender constructions. Her artistic approach consists of combining documentary and performative scenes. The video artist distinguishes between recordings of male identities in times of change and her personal search for a specifically female perspective. Venezia’s video installation contrasts recordings with interviews with a group of young men who are in the phase of the Saturn return and reflect on this phase of their lives. The Saturn return occurs every 27 to 29.5 years: At that time, the planet Saturn is in the same degree as during a person’s birth. In astrology, Saturn is attributed with the power to accelerate wake-up calls and moments of self-reflection and transformation. Venezia takes this particular stage of life as the starting point for conducting interviews with a group of young men and filming their everyday lives in rural areas in the USA. Video: YES, AND… productions GmbH & Co. KG The artist contrasts male-coded activities such as chopping wood, repairing a motorbike, building a house or talking shop about the most stable way to park a trailer on an uneven surface with her explorations of her own actions and identity. For example, we see Venezia lying on a mat in dialogue with a woman. In Hebrew, the artist is advised to follow her inner impulses, even if they seem unimportant at first. The young men also increasingly open up as the video progresses. One protagonist recounts experiences from his childhood, about not feeling safe at home, experiencing violence and becoming violent himself. Another protagonist talks about how manipulative he was as a child. The statements of the young men are contrasted with cross-fades of interview statements and sound. On a cinematic level, animals break up the self-reflections of the protagonists and the artist. Insects and reptiles in the forest and in the water as well as a domestic cat are intersocial reference points that provide cheerfulness and lightness. In an astrological consultation, the artist learns that she is currently in a Venus Return phase of her life. This is dominated by beauty and aesthetics. On the visual level of the film, these remarks about beauty are accompanied by aestheticised shots of male nudes by the river. The scenes of transformation and self-reflection of the male protagonists are interspersed with the artist finding her own voice and visual language. With the multiple perspectives presented in the film, Venezia also presents a spectrum not only of one’s own identity, but also of acting within social structures. Dana Venezia’s film also makes clear how fluid gender identities are, especially in social interactions. Text: Dr. Silke Förschler Photo: Diana-Elena Păun Film still from „Venus Return“, Dana Venezia Film still from „Venus Return“, Dana Venezia Photo: Diana-Elena Păun Photo: Sebastian Kläbsch/berlinARTcore Photo: Sebastian Kläbsch/berlinARTcore Dana Venezia Dana Venezia is a visual artist and filmmaker. She creates experimental documentaries, exploring the liminal boundaries between fiction and non-fiction narratives. Her works deal with belief mechanisms, control, authorship and communication; evoking the constant quest for truth. Venezia holds a Bachelor’s degree in Art History from Tel Aviv University and a Master’s in Fine Arts from the Royal College of Arts in London. Her films have been screened in museums, galleries and film festivals worldwide. Instagram: @daniquisha Website: http://danavenezia.com/
