Voyeurism Fast and Easy

Videocards,
Dům pánů z Kunštátu,
Brno,
Nov 11 – Dec 5, 2004


As they gaze into the objective lens of the camera, their faces show no sign of amazement or indignation. Their heads turn towards each other and they continue walking without missing a step. So we have enough time to look at the girls. Any visitor who descended into the basement of the Dům pánů z Kunštátu in Brno between November 11 and December 5, 2004 could have become an undisclosed voyeur. In the Videocards project, works by artists Margarita Zinets and Alexander Vereschak, both from the Ukraine, were presented.
Two friends stroll slowly down the main street of an East European metropolis. They seem similar in some ways. Is it the way they are hold their handbags? Or the length of their pants? Along comes another pair. An observer looks at them, lets them go by and watches them for some time still. The girls generally pay no mind, so there is time enough to examine the details – haircut, eyes, earrings, lips, décolletage, behind, and legs. The eye of the camera sometimes focuses on the men walking opposite the girls: they behold them with the same overt gaze as the exhibition visitors in the darkness.
Ok, think the viewers, this is the tenth pair, what’s next? More of the same? Eventually, they realize that there won’t be any action, and they relax and start watching more carefully. Besides being pleasant to look at, unexpected associations emerge that border on a sociological study.
In each pair of friends one can see – in most cases – which of them is higher up in their inner and unstated hierarchy, and which one is trying to keep up. The first one has a better T-shirt, a more fashionable handbag or a perfect tiger outfit. And it is not important whether they were inspired by the latest issue of Vogue or they wear an authentic outfit from the 80s. It is also interesting to note the similarity in their make-up, shade of lipstick, hair and gait. On another level the watcher may notice the color correspondence or contrast with the surroundings. A girl passes a clothes rack wearing pants the same color as the track-suit on sale there, the hair and skirt of a gorgeous Ukrainian match the facade behind her.
The movements of the girls are projected in slow motion as pleasant music is heard in the background. A lithe rhythmic walk is complemented by clever camera work – after focusing on the subjects, rapid background motion begins to blur. This churns into the dreamy mood of a fast whirling amusement park ride:
The girls are still a focal point around which the whole world spins.

01.01.2005