cornice
Cornice, 2021, long-duration performance. Photo: Jessie Yingying Gong
In Cornice Yedidia investigates the hidden connections between the titular architectural element and the "ideal" female form; both of which are subjected to similar processes, and arguably, a product of their own particular beauty standards.
The cornice is a decorative component, originating from classical architecture, positioned as the crowning form upon exteriors or interiors of buildings. The artist employed the traditional technique of cornice-making using a running-mold, and juxtaposed this tool with the image of her body profile, making sure to use a pose that conformed to Western beauty standards: gracefully stretched with her arms held aloft like a caryatid, to appear thin and static.​
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The cornice molding process consists of repetitive contrasting actions: a splashed layer of plaster is followed by the shaving action of the mold’s metal profile, repeatedly, until it reaches its seemingly seamless form. In this series of long-duration performative acts the artist molds several angles of her body profile: crops of legs, breasts, buttocks, and last, her entire body. Being done vertically, the main challenge of this technique is to work fast enough before the plaster hardens, thus preventing the material from sagging. Cornice depicts an inner battle against time and gravity.​​
Text by Nadine Snijders for Metamorphoses
Cornice, 2021, plaster, iron, aluminium, wood, various sizes, installation views: Doing the Stuff with the Thing, Arti et Amicitiae, Amsterdam NL, 2021.
Photography credits: photo 1,3: Jessie Yingying Gong, photo 2, 4–7: LNDW Studio
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Cornice, 2021, video excerpt, original length: 04 minutes 29 seconds, cinematography by Michaela Lakova
This project was made possible thanks to the Mondriaan Fund