2112 – Dwejra

The predicted apocalypse of December 21, 2012, did not come to be, and for many of us, life went on as if nothing ever was.

A video and photography exhibition by the Italian artist Silvia Camporesi, in the upper galleries of St James Cavalier, was inspired by this infamous date.

Camporesi’s exhibits related to this date were shot on Gozo, precisely on December 21, 2012. They consist of a video installation and photographic work which carries the title 2112. The numbers refer to the prophesised date of the end of the world myth.

Camporesi wandered around Gozo recording, with her photo and video cameras, what was occurring on the day. Considering that this was supposed to be such a tormented day, not much was happening with regard to human interaction, although admittedly this has to do with Camporesi’s choice of location.

Camporesi chose to record the sea and waves crashing against cliff faces. Seascapes such as the ones selected are not too exciting as subjects anymore. Nonetheless the three Kirigami photos were interesting. They were set up at right angles, capturing Dwejra in two instances, and Xlendi in the other.

She succeeded, in this way, to render visually exciting an image that would otherwise have been considered repetitious; this by manipulating the printed image.

In the same room are other photographs and a video that record the stillness of 2112, numbering six exhibits in all. An all-pervasive movement predominates, but it is only related to the sea and natural forces without any human interference.

It is really and truly this installation that is concerned with the December 21, 2012 theme. The three videos in the next three rooms were produced in the past six years, and although equally sombre, are entirely different. The change in theme is too brusque, and therefore, mind-boggling.

Although the concern with the end of the world was, supposedly, a very human one, no human interaction is recorded in the previous rooms. There are no direct human emotions.

This lack of the human presence is compensated, so to speak, in the three videos that follow.

The physical exertion is well portrayed, and it is visibly connected to emotion

In these videos, Camporesi’s philosophical background emerges more pungently. The focus is on the female form in different aspects.

The first video, Dance Dance Dance, dates to 2007, and refers to loss and abandonment, themes that emerge from Murakami’s 1988 novel of the same title. A woman in a long red dress swoons and swirls very slowly in a pool. Within the four-minute, 31-second-long video, the woman’s face is never portrayed.

Second Wind of 2010, the next video installation, features another woman – European Karate champion Shaira Taha – who performs Kata Unsu within a closed cell.

I found the last video was the most compelling. Perhaps this was because it was seen in succession of the others. In SIFR of 2010, the viewer follows a woman who is running in and around the province of Ravenna, Italy.

The physical exertion is well portrayed, and it is visibly connected to emotion. The woman runs in a long, billowing, black skirt that creates beautiful flowing lines. This does not allow for stillness, even when the woman has stopped running. This video is about life’s emotional journey.

One cannot help but notice the emphasis on the portrayal of women. In one video, a distraught woman is dealing with emotional pain. In the last, the woman is vulnerable when she stops running, but then grabs life by the horns, and on she goes.

Certain questions inevitably came to mind. Knowing of the recent upsurge in interest in women and their sensuality, I cannot help but see a parallel here.

Women like Sheila Kelley claim that the world would be an inherently better place if women reconnected to their femininity. Women would be happier, therefore impacting the lives of those around them.

Idealistic? Perhaps. But I was intrigued. In fact, Kelley has developed the S Factor: a fitness technique that helps women be in tune with the language of their bodies through movement. In the wake of women trying hard to be successful, part of the Yin is being entirely forgotten, causing an imbalance.

Is there some correlation between asexuality and successful women?

It had been claimed that we are living through the fourth wave of feminism. Actress Helen Mirren is also causing a stir on the matter, claiming that it is “obvious” for her to be a feminist. “We’re half the population.”

What did Goethe really mean with “Eternal feminine, lead us above”?

Is Camporesi actually concerned with a feminine/feminist aspect?

Maybe it is due to such thoughts that the last video left more of an impact than expected.

Would somebody not aware of what is happening in the broader context have felt the same way?