38-40

In the video work, we watch images of a young woman going up and down stairs wearing a size 38–40 metal skirt, which also functions as an expression of a mental armor. Accompanying these images is a paradoxical intertwining of Doris Day’s song “Que Sera, Sera”, symbolizing the norms of the 1960s, and a contemporary composition by the American composer Philip Corner, representing the values of the technological age.

The size 38–40 skirt worn by the young woman in the video also symbolizes the patterns passed down from generation to generation in our society. When becoming aware of these patterns leads us to rebel against some of them, it signals the beginning of change. This video work is produced for Gülsün Orhon’s ‘Bodies and Rooms’ exhibition at Karşı Sanat Gallery Istanbul in September 2002.

Concept: Gülsün Orhon, Ayşe Orhon
Editing: Jojo Ensslin, Ayşe Orhon

Duration: 5 min.

Cinematographer: Atilla Alicikoğlu
Second Camera: Zilan Karakurt
Technical Assistant: Kaan Gökgöz
Metal skirt design: Gülsün Orhon
Performed by: Ayşe Orhon
Music: Philip Corner (Erratum #2), Doris Day (Que Sera, Sera)
Thanks to: Elisa Quack, Kerem Şenel