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Here I Come
2021, video, 30'
In the new video works, in which Hodošček explores what happens when individuals are challenged to perform individually for hours without a script simply by being directed to interact with the camera in front of them, the subject’s utterances and emotional states that develop through the time-consuming recording process are examined. The starting point of the experiment that Hodošček conducted in collaboration with actors lies in her research of the first cases of the intertwining of the economic and the psychological spheres, connecting corporations with psychologists in the 1950s, when the circumstances in which individuals can best identify with their work and when they are most effective at work began to be explored more intensively, while psychological discourse was soon introduced into the field of work and focused on the individual, emotions and relationships. The exhibition In Becoming consists of four video works. They all feature the same scene, an empty space with a black curtain, a chair and a camera, shooting non-stop, with the same set of events developing in all of them, differing only in intensity. The protagonist soon begins to talk mainly about himself, often develops a pronounced affectivity and a kind of failed self-representation occurs. The same effect in all works, namely, the outlining of the individual’s self-image, his expectations and fears, especially in relation to his work and social status, the questioning of himself whether he is up to what is expected, what he needs to improve, perfect, change, the escalating feelings of being caught, of discomfort and anxiety, and the failed intention to selectively show only the desired and ordered conception of himself (the mask slips out of control in places, the self-censorship also loosens completely), is achieved by the artist through several moments. The actor is alone, his task is to be in front of the camera for several hours, without any text and any kind of guidance, what he stages is entirely up to him, and above all, whatever he chooses and utters, he receives no response. By creating such situations in which the space – with a camera constantly observing and consolidating its position of power from moment to moment (indeed, a female protagonist in one of the videos wonders who is in control), and with the curtain that delineates – sooner appears as a panopticon rather than a stage, a space of incessant surveillance, and with the pronounced non-reciprocity marked by the protagonist remaining unresponsive throughout his performance, the construction of himself and his role, Hodošček creates for her subjects an increasingly traumatic situation of insecurity, helplessness, physical and mental exhaustion, and loss of self-control. What we have before us is an intense atmosphere of emotional states that are an obvious result of the set-up situation and not of a constantly controlled play (which one might think because the protagonists are actors), a sharpened portrayal of the human need to interact with others, and an interweaving of both psychological and social aspects, as the conditions of life in contemporary neoliberal societies are outlined by the subjects’ utterances. (expert from the exhibition text by Irena Čerčnik)
Installation view, Center for Contemporary Art Celje, 2021, photo: Ana Straže