4 – 21 December 2019
FELTspace
Adelaide, Australia
“do you love me?” is the question we are all asking, whether it be to family, friends or an intimate partner. To be loved is a primal need we are born with, without love no one would feed and shelter us, we would never survive infancy.
Love means very different things to disparate people in various circumstances. So how do we understand each other when communicating about love? If we send out the question will someone receive it? Will we understand the response? (if there is one)
New Zealand based artist Justine Walker uses repetition, performance and lived experience to research longing, loss, acceptance and family. Her latest video work ‘do you love me?’ is a longing for acceptance. Using a child size pair of semaphore flags, a woman repeatedly signals ‘do you love me’. However, she is signalling in mirror image, a common mistake when first learning semaphore, playing further into the miscommunication around love. The red & yellow Oscar flags used to signal at sea, increase the miscommunication and distance between performer and viewer.
As part of FELTdark “do you love me?” is repeatedly asked of passers-by with no promise the question will be noticed, received or understood. Would you understand a response? (if there is one)
Works included
do you love me? video, 40 min, 39 sec, 2019