Unsex Me Here
An ambiguous parable about sex, nature, memory and repressed wildness, ‘Unsex Me Here’ is set in a dreamy borderland somewhere between mid-century Palm Springs and European fairy-tale forests. Ilona Szwarc, who was born in Warsaw and grew up in a small town in Texas, uses her own memories to explore shifts in time and body.
For this work, Szwarc draws generously on bildungsromans, psychoanalytic tracts, instructional videos on make-up and the history of female self-portraiture. The title of her series is taken from Shakespeare’s character Lady Macbeth and her plea to evil spirits to transform her from a gentle woman into someone capable of committing serious atrocities. Szwarc uses the vocabulary of a Hollywood production – delicate sets, ornate landscapes and lavish costuming – to depict the complicated psychology of her coming-of-age.
“And down she went, until her head swung against his, on all fours now, dragging her knees (…) then she began to bark also, crawling after him – barking in a fit of laughter, obscene and touching.” (from ‘Nightwood’ by Djuna Barnes)
