sorcerer ( Greta Liht, Alissa Naaber, Kirke Talu, Agathe Peri) presents visuals created for art festival “I do not understand” taking place at Telliskivi Creative City. Their installation at the Konteiner Gallery will be open until the 18th of August.
Social connections and a sense of belonging are considered basic human needs. Feeling strong bond with a physical, symbolic, or imagined collective is vital for both the individual and the community. In a way, the family represents a utopia of communal belonging, the participation of which does not depend on the actions or omissions of the individual.
One of the driving forces of fashion is a sense of belonging: this is exactly what encourages people to follow trends. Consequently, a fashion cult can empower existing social hierarchies by ostracizing people who do not participate. However, the constant race to establish individuality and uniqueness ends up along the path of a gray mass. Trying to stand out makes us all the same.
The amplification of certain stereotypes can be found by looking at the outfits of the “traditional” family members. The masculinity and protective nature of a family man are expressed by elements of recycled military equipment used for his look. A faceless headdress adorned with modest makeup illustrates the mother's selfless care and love. The teenage daughter's clothes reflect the youth's desire to stand out and tell us about her passionate search for a community to belong to.
In the Sorcerer's eyes, the body’s coverings are perfect tools to destroy entrenched ideals and stereotypes. By transforming and distorting the body with clothes, its contours are blurred, and the wearer becomes one with the clothes. "Connecting Threads" provokes questions about norms, identity, individuality, and acceptance and creates a dynamic and contradictory environment that encourages viewers to think about how to expand the concept of family.