In 2008 maakte Meg Stuart een one-shotvideo, geïnspireerd op de face-to-face-video’s van Vito Acconci, waarin ze tijdscapsules van geconcentreerde aanwezigheid onderzoekt, opgebouwd rond eenvoudige handelingen en relationele assen. In die video, getiteld The only possible city, vormden herinneringsruimtes het uitgangspunt. In 2022 herneemt Meg Stuart dit onderwerp en creëert ze portretten met danser Jayson Batut in de context van Zero Point. In de jaren daarop volgen Matija (2024) en Kotomi (2025). Deze portretten richten zich op het archief van de innerlijke wereld en het uiterlijke kader van de sociale interactie — en in het midden, tussen realiteit en simulatie, bevindt zich de blik. Wat we aanschouwen, wordt onze eigen ondervraging.

‘By examining presence more closely, details appear. Meg Stuart has long been fascinated by the micro-gesture. “The tiny enables expression in daily life”, she says. Shifting focus to the weight or the sound of the gestures offers a new frame for observing the person a little bit differently. The choreographic detailing hints at a motivational ‘inner side’ of what we see, whereas we can only look at the ‘outside’, at the image. In a series of portraits, the gaze is the portal to this space of negotiation. The gaze protects the face by hiding it. The face, as a primary canvas, articulates the barrier of visibility: it simultaneously reveals and conceals, performing a masquerade without ever offering a full picture.

The photographic portrait reflects an abstraction of our time in daily existence, from which Stuart draws an unconventional sense: the transformational dimension of life. The portraits show flickering emotions, flirty self-awareness, joyful play with the unreal, slipping in and out of the performed identities. Here the picture evolves and enters into a realm of dialogue. It conveys both an engagement with and a resistance to the social contract, to the expectations of public appearance. It vividly illustrates the state of being locked into the gaze while being fully present.’ – fragment van de tentoonstellingstekst door Isabelle Pauwelyn

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