Annulment
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- Annulment
- Anulare
- 1989
- 9 b&w vintage prints, mounted on cardboard
- 92 × 22 cm
Lia Perjovschi performed “Annulment” in her apartment in Oradea shortly prior to the collapse of communism. The artist sits on white cloth, which covers the floor while a piece of stretched white linen functions as a backdrop. She is bandaged in white sheets with an entangled mesh of black rope binding her body. To Perjovschi, the act of annulling or state of annulment corresponds to the legal act via which a marriage is declared invalid. Her bound poses refer to the Japanese self-defense technique of Aikido, where the body refrains from actively resisting an attack and instead moves such that the attacker’s own momentum works against them. “Ai” denotes being together, “ki” represents the spirit, and “do” references art. The artist’s body is defiled and wounded but ultimately recovers, once again unmarred and free from dirt and pollution. W.S.