Wood, steel plates, gold cord, seeds of different fruits, yarn, teasels, video, motor, tree trunk, shoes, scarlet macaw feathers.
Video; performance Mariëlle Videler, duration 4:14 min.
Dimensions h 3.25 m x w 9.7 x d 7.1
The basic form for the installation Parque is inspired by a visit to the Museu do Índio in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. There, Mariëlle Videler saw an installation made by people who live along the Oiapoque River. Decorated masts give form to a space for the ritual festival of Turé. With lots of dancing and singing, the festival is dedicated to people who live in the underworld and appear to us as plants and animals.
Mariëlle Videler has been a vegetarian since the beginning of her studies at the art academy and with this installation she creates her own ritual for animals killed during the hunt. The dance in this work is a hunting dance: The Dance of Diana. This goddess punishes those who take too much of nature. The dance comes from the visual gymnastics of G.C. van den Bergh, and noted in the 1920s with a few photos. The dance consists of three parts; ‘the preparation’, ‘around the campfire’ and ‘the hunt’.
Another important element in the installation is the weiknoop that Videler used to create a golden net around the long wooden poles. The knot, also known as macramé, was used centuries ago to tie a bag for hunting; a game bag. The shot game was taken home in such a bag; the loot remained fresh through the gaps between the knots.
