SPOTTING- Videoperformance

Freya Hattenberger - Video Performance

My face is close to the camera. I stick a whole pack of red adhesive dots onto my skin. Is this about marking a potential cosmetic correction? Am I covering up pigmentation spots or blemishes? The red dots take over—like a rash, they settle in. My expression becomes distorted, my facial features take on a mask-like quality. These stickers are also used at art fairs to indicate which artworks have been sold. It’s like the Tour de France: the one with the most red dots has conquered the heights best or has been the most adept. Spotting is the English term for the retouching work of removing spots, where white blemishes caused by dust or scratches on the negative are corrected in the enlargement.

Primarily working performatively, the body and (social) space are central aspects of Freya Hattenberger's work. She is particularly interested in questions of representation, behavioral patterns, and autonomy. The often autobiographical elements deliberately provide a space for irritation, and a subtle irony seeks to disrupt ingrained patterns of perception.

Freya Hattenberger has received, among other awards, the Karl Schmidt-Rottluff Scholarship and the NRW State Prize for Media Art.