Don't Go through the Woods was part of "Tell Me More Stories," a collaborative installation by Maria Anasazi & Zoe Leoudaki
Below, follows an discussion between the two artists about the piece.
Zoe: Maria is the only person I've met who said that fairy tales where absent from her childhood. My experience was the complete opposite.
Maria and I met by chance in DC; the only Greeks in a group show some years ago. We started talking—about the past, the present, life here and there. We discovered that we explored similar themes in our art, namely fairy tales. So, the idea of this collaborative piece was born.
Maria: Tell Me More Stories explores narratives—based on stories not told in my case, and stories retold and refashioned in Zoe's piece. We used the idea of absence and presence as a starting point to anchor conceptually our points of view.
Zoe: I grew up with stories about small beings coming down the chimneys at night, opulent kingdoms in faraway places, little girls wandering alone into the woods. All these images still remain vivid, and my parents' voices echo in my mind every time I read my daughter a story. Through my piece, I tell my stories to Maria Anasazi and show her my childhood images, like an offering.
Maria: I was reintroduced to fairy tales as an adult taking a graduate course on children¹s literature, when I realized fairy tales and myths had not been part of my childhood. I felt the loss of the absence. I grew up without children¹s books, but I learned how to sew at an early age. Using the technique of the seamstress I created a dress tearing pages of story books using wire and paper twist. My work is about embodiment of the fairy tale magic.
Zoe: I've focused on the Little Red Riding Hood story a number of times in my past work. When Maria and I talked about a collaborative piece I had this image in my mind of a little girl dressed in a red cape running endlessly. Later, the narrative changed. I decided to create a video of a little girl putting on a Little Red Riding Hood costume with the help of her mother. This is the first time I used my daughter for a piece. Most of what you see on the video is improvised. The costume she's wearing was mine when I was her age.
Maria: I'm weaving a big, hollow, long dress of tales never told. It's made up from hundreds torn pieces of yellowing pages. If you get close enough it smells like a library of old books. The dress will stand alone and mute in the space, behind it Zoe's video, filled with movement, will be reciting her personal fairy tale in Greek and English.
Zoe: When the work came out of the studio—in this case the editing suite—it took on a life of its own. I saw "Don't Go through the Woods" projected on the gallery wall and almost didn't recognize it. What was an intimate tale of personal engagements suddenly had become big and overpowering. I need to hide.
I like Maria's dress standing on stage like an opera singer with no voice and only a strong longing for another way of being.
Maria: The dress stands almost like a person. A lonely person. If you touch it or push it its expression will change. This dress will be the host of a performance. On December 15 I will wear the dress and for once I will become a listener, a recipient of fairy tales.
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How to sew a capeby Goldkehlchen2089,006 views
thanks for this cool video! my names Faith, kinda feelin bored if any1 wants to join me on cam or wana chat i will be signed on at __ FriendlyFlirts(.COM) __ my user ID there is Faith_olpehzndnx chat soon xx its FR33 to j0in! mwah
patriciohxcp 3 years ago
where the hell is the wolf?
iwantcoolname 4 years ago