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objectify

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Objectify, 2018, performance, 100 minutes, ISO, Amsterdam, NL. Photo: Jessie Yingying Gong

Objectify is a long-duration endurance performance in which the artist stands straight, passive, and composed. Naked in the center of the space, her arms are stretched upward like a caryatid, while another woman molds her body parts. Throughout the performance, the artist must endure the burning pain of remaining still, resisting the heavy plaster that pulls her downward. As time passes, she begins to lose her sense of body, orientation, and responsiveness to her environment. The artist stays in her vulnerable position, exposed to an outer gaze and its surveillance.

 

The performance ends with the artist’s body parts exhibited as plaster objects, traces of the live act. The repetitive presence of these fragments oscillates between intimacy and alienation. They are naturalistic imprints, almost aggressively precise—revealing, and at the same time, inviting comparison and judgment.

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Objectify, 2018, performance, 100 minutes, ISO, Amsterdam, NL. Co-performer: Marie Ilse Bourlanges, photography: Jessie Yingying Gong

© Romy Yedidia, 2025

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