Latest revision as of 17:04, 29 March 2023

SEXx

(Social Expectation of Women)

abstract

The project explores the societal norms and expectations placed on women. Through the use of mixed media such as photography, videos, and a movement workshop, it sheds light on the issue. Taking inspiration from the movement of Physarum Polysephalum, the project showcases the freedom of expression that women are entitled to in all aspects of their lives, including their sexual desires, without compromising their values.

"SEXx (Social Expectation of Women)" is a project that sheds light on the oppressive societal norms that women face. Women are often judged and evaluated based on their behavior and expression of desire, especially when it comes to sex. Terms such as "whore," "slut," and "nymphomaniac" are commonly used to describe women, while men are given more positive labels such as "Romeo," "Casanova," and "womanizer." Through the use of mixed media such as photography, videos, and a movement workshop, the project creates an engaging environment for visitors and participants to experience the hidden issues that women still face in society.

The project takes inspiration from the beautiful living form of Physarum Polysephalum, a highly intelligent unicellular organism capable of finding the shortest path to reach its food source while avoiding harmful environments. The visual movement of slime moulds searching for food not only portrays their freedom of desire for food, but also their power of expression and decisiveness. This inspired me to conduct a deeper exploration into their natural movements and behaviors, including how they move to express their hunger and perform in order to reach their food source. Through this observation, I was struck by the freedom and pleasantness of their movement, which led me to develop a workshop idea that incorporates the concepts of bodies, minds, freedom, and drive.

This project consists of two parts. The first part involves the observation of the Physarum Polysephalum, which resulted in photography and videography work. The second part is a movement workshop that was inspired by the observations made in the first part.

1. The Observation

To comprehend the nature of the Physarum Polysephalum and its means of survival in challenging circumstances, I carried out two experiments in which slime moulds were placed in a controlled and challenging environment that opposes their natural behavior. I observed their movements and patterns as they attempted to reach their food source and documented them through photography, videography, time-lapse and a microscope techniques.

Experiment I: In this experiment, I divided a container with 12 holes, and filled each hole with agar, placing slime moulds and oats separately. Some of the holes were left empty. The slime moulds can sense the food, but they need to find a way to access it through the empty space between the holes.

Results: The slime moulds used small bridges between the holes to reach the oats. Some of them moved downwards to the bottom of the container and climbed up to the holes that were full of oats. Others used the lid of the container as a bridge to reach the food. The empty holes that were not in between the oats and slime moulds were not used in the journey. This means that the slime moulds still chose the shortest paths instead of searching every hole. However, the journey took a bit longer than usual. In the end, the slime moulds took over most of the oat holes and grew very big. They dried out due to the lack of agar. From the observation, I could see their hard work in the journey, and it was inspiring how they creatively managed to find a way to the food in a difficult situation.

Experiment II: I divided two sets of slime moulds lying on an agar layer into different containers: one set had easy access to their food while the other set was in a controlled environment that prohibited them from accessing their food. Both sets were placed together in the same installation designed to project the idea of sexual hierarchy through its position. The aim was not only to observe the results of one set performing their acts of desire easier than the other but also to reflect the image of women who are mostly stuck in controlling conditions at the bottom of our ongoing patriarchal society. I aimed to see the different results of how each set tried to reach their food.

Results: The slime mould in both sets took a longer time than the first experiment to move around. The set at the top, which had easy access to the oats, did not move towards the oats easily. My assumption is that the open environment of the container made the habitat too dry and not easy for slime moulds to live. The other set at the bottom grew faster until they reached the edge of the covering glass. I put some of them outside the glass to see if they could climb up to the oats. However, they stopped moving once the agar became too dry and could not reach the oats. What I learned from this experiment is that even though the desire for food was still there, when the basic factors, such as the habitat, cannot support them, it is impossible for them to even survive.

Conclusion

The struggling pattern that I had expected to see before conducting the experiments was not observed the way I had imagined. Slime moulds are incredibly clever organisms, hence, they were able to find a way to reach the food source even in challenging circumstances. However, this doesn’t mean that the slime moulds in both experiments did not suffer, as the way that the experiments were conducted already affected their nature. Some of them had to go through a difficult journey, and some of them had to face severe living environments. In the end, both groups dried out unnaturally in the containers where I put them.

I was inspired not only by the beauty of the struggles as a way of growing, but also by the decisive desire that drives them to create new possibilities. I collected my thoughts from the observation and combined them with the Gaga dance practices. Through the framework of connecting our bodies, their bodies, and imaginations, experiencing physical sensations, and emptying ourselves to fill in with new sensations, energy, and movements.

I compiled the results from both experiments into a video work that aims to portray the sensation of oppression and the desire to be free.

2. The Movement Workshop

The movement workshop employed Gaga dance techniques as a tool to help participants open up their bodies and make them available by emptying old sensations, beliefs, and experiences to create new possibilities. Combining the inspiration of the slime mould's patterns and movements, which embody desire, inner drive, courage, and freedom, the workshop aimed to help participants reconnect and reform their relationships between themselves, their inner needs, and nature.

The first part of the workshop provided a safe space for participants to open up physically and mentally through discussions leading to movement practices that broke down the topic into fragments, allowing participants to gradually let go of their personalities, senses of self, including movements, voices, thoughts, pains, and pasts, and embrace their present state of being without labeling themselves.

In the final part of the workshop, the energy generated in the first segment was harnessed and channeled through a poetry reading that aimed to encourage participants to express their drives, feelings, and emotions through words. The goal was to empower the participants to freely transform the new energy they had created, unburdened by any fear or hesitation. As the participants embodied their newfound energy, they experienced a sense of renewal, discovering new facets of themselves in their own unique way. This process allowed them to uncover the hidden power within themselves that could be used to empower themselves and others.

Overall, the workshop was designed to challenge and inspire participants to break free from their limitations and unleash their creative potential by utilizing Gaga's techniques and drawing inspiration from the movements of slime mould. Participants are encouraged to embrace their innermost desires and passions and to harness the boundless energy within themselves.

The workshop took place on March 25th, 2022, at the DBL (Digital Bauhaus Lab) with two participants: Martin Müller and Lisa Zwinzscher.

Click to download the workshop plan >> File:Passion Asasu - SEXx Movement Workshop.pdf

The documentation of the workshop

Special thanks to:

Workshop Participants: Martin Müller, Lisa Zwinzscher
Slime Mould Donation: Nicolas Krewer - Bo Liu - Cosmo Niklas Schüppel

Older Idea and Experiment

older_idea_and_experiment

References

https://www.gagapeople.com/en/
https://www.danceadvantage.net/questions-about-gaga/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqO3cn5ME0A

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+='''SEXx'''=
+'''(Social Expectation of Women)'''
+<br>
+'''abstract'''<br>
+The project explores the societal norms and expectations placed on women. Through the use of mixed media such as photography, videos, and a movement workshop, it sheds light on the issue. Taking inspiration from the movement of Physarum Polysephalum, the project showcases the freedom of expression that women are entitled to in all aspects of their lives, including their sexual desires, without compromising their values.
 [[File:Passion Asasu - SEXx Project Cover.jpg|1600px]]
-“SEXx (Social Expectation of Women)” is a project that reflects on woman oppression in our society which targets to point out issues that women are usually being judged and evaluated their values from their behaviours and expressions of desire especially when it comes to SEX. There are terms that use to describe women such as whore, slut, nymphomaniac.  In opposition to men, who get to be called with much more positive definition such as romeo, cassanova or womenizer.  In order to engage people understandings and make them indulge into the pool of those issues, the project creates an environment for visitors by using mixed media such as photograph, installation and video, for the audiences to experience the hidden issues that women are still facing in the society.
+"SEXx (Social Expectation of Women)" is a project that sheds light on the oppressive societal norms that women face. Women are often judged and evaluated based on their behavior and expression of desire, especially when it comes to sex. Terms such as "whore," "slut," and "nymphomaniac" are commonly used to describe women, while men are given more positive labels such as "Romeo," "Casanova," and "womanizer." Through the use of mixed media such as photography, videos, and a movement workshop, the project creates an engaging environment for visitors and participants to experience the hidden issues that women still face in society.
-The project is inspired by the beautiful living form of Physarum Polysephalum (Slime Mould), an intelligent unicellular organism that can find the shortest path to access their food and avoid harmful environments.  The visual act of slime moulds searching for food does not only portray the freedom of their desire for food, but also manifest the power of expression and decisiveness. The intrigued pattern of slime moulds when hunting for food inspired me to look deeper into the possibility of the new social norms. What if we, women, can finally express ourselves freely without being judged or evaluated, how pleasant of life could it be?
+The project takes inspiration from the beautiful living form of Physarum Polysephalum, a highly intelligent unicellular organism capable of finding the shortest path to reach its food source while avoiding harmful environments. The visual movement of slime moulds searching for food not only portrays their freedom of desire for food, but also their power of expression and decisiveness. This inspired me to conduct a deeper exploration into their natural movements and behaviors, including how they move to express their hunger and perform in order to reach their food source. Through this observation, I was struck by the freedom and pleasantness of their movement, which led me to develop a workshop idea that incorporates the concepts of bodies, minds, freedom, and drive.
 [[File:Passion Asasu - SEXx 1st Section 4.jpg|1600px]]
+''This project consists of two parts. The first part involves the observation of the Physarum Polysephalum, which resulted in photography and videography work. The second part is a movement workshop that was inspired by the observations made in the first part.''
-Before cracking the core of the norms, I firstly want to peel the shell by allowing us, everyone, to understand the difficulties of being limited in expression by using the natural performance of slime moulds to ironically represent the idea. There are two experiments conducted in this project, both of them shared the main idea of putting slime moulds into a controlling and challenging environment which firmly against their nature. Then, I observed their struggling patterns of not being able to access their food and documented them by photography and time-lapse, in order to convey the message of the project visually. The idea is to enhance the fact that we are diverse in every level and scale as well as other organisms, and we deserve to be able to release our passion and desire as free as possible. Otherwise, we will see this struggling pattern exists everywhere.
+'''1. The Observation'''
-The project aims to increase sympathy, raise the standard of our social norms and slim down the inequality borders to allow women to express themselves as equal as other genders because we are all simply just the products of the nature.
+To comprehend the nature of the Physarum Polysephalum and its means of survival in challenging circumstances, I carried out two experiments in which slime moulds were placed in a controlled and challenging environment that opposes their natural behavior. I observed their movements and patterns as they attempted to reach their food source and documented them through photography, videography, time-lapse and a microscope techniques.
 [[File:Passion Asasu - SEXx 1st Section 3.jpg|1600px]]
-<strong>Technique</strong>
-The project contains two experiments and observations:
-'''Experiment No.1:''' I put slime mould in a divided container which has 12 holes, then put agar into the bottom of every hole and put slime moulds and oats separately and left some of the holes empty. Slime moulds can easily sense the food but in order to reach, they need to find the way to access through the empty space between the holes. I record the movement by using time-lapse, photography and microscope.
+'''Experiment I:''' In this experiment, I divided a container with 12 holes, and filled each hole with agar, placing slime moulds and oats separately. Some of the holes were left empty. The slime moulds can sense the food, but they need to find a way to access it through the empty space between the holes.
-'''Result:''' Slime mould used little bridges between the holes to reach the oats and some of them moved downwards to the bottom of the container and climbed up to the holes that full with oats and some of them used the lid of the container as a bridge to reach the oats.  The empty holes that are not in between the oats and slime moulds were not part of the journey which means slime moulds still chosen the shortest paths instead of searching every hole but the journey took a bit longer than usual. In the end, they could take over most of the oat holes and grew very big then dried out because of the lack of agar. From the observation, I can see the hard work in the journey, and it was inspiring how they creatively manage to find the way to the food in a difficult situation.
+'''Results:''' The slime moulds used small bridges between the holes to reach the oats. Some of them moved downwards to the bottom of the container and climbed up to the holes that were full of oats. Others used the lid of the container as a bridge to reach the food. The empty holes that were not in between the oats and slime moulds were not used in the journey. This means that the slime moulds still chose the shortest paths instead of searching every hole. However, the journey took a bit longer than usual. In the end, the slime moulds took over most of the oat holes and grew very big. They dried out due to the lack of agar. From the observation, I could see their hard work in the journey, and it was inspiring how they creatively managed to find a way to the food in a difficult situation.
@@ Line 27: / Line 33: @@
-'''Experiment No.2:''' I divided 2 sets of slime moulds lied on agar layer in a different type of container: one set can access their food easily while the other set was under controlled environment that prohibited them from accessing food.  Both sets were put together in the same installation that is also designed by its position to project the idea of sexual hierarchy.  Not only to observe the result that one can perform their acts of desire easier than the other in compared, but also to reflect the image of women who are mostly stuck in the controlling condition at the bottom of our ongoing patriarchal society. I aimed to see different results of how each set trying to reach the food.
+'''Experiment II:''' I divided two sets of slime moulds lying on an agar layer into different containers: one set had easy access to their food while the other set was in a controlled environment that prohibited them from accessing their food. Both sets were placed together in the same installation designed to project the idea of sexual hierarchy through its position. The aim was not only to observe the results of one set performing their acts of desire easier than the other but also to reflect the image of women who are mostly stuck in controlling conditions at the bottom of our ongoing patriarchal society. I aimed to see the different results of how each set tried to reach their food.
-'''Result:''' slime mould in both set took longer time than the first experiment to move around, the set at the top which can freely access to the oats did not move towards the oats easily, my assumption is because the opened environment of the container made the habitat becomes too dry and not easy for slime moulds to live. The other set at the bottom grew faster until they reached the edge of the covering glass, I put some of them outside of the glass to see if they can climb up to the oats.  However, they stopped moving once the agar is too dry and could not make it to the oats. What I learn from this experiment is, even the desire for food was still there but when the basic factor such as habitat cannot support them, it is impossible for them to even live.
+'''Results:''' The slime mould in both sets took a longer time than the first experiment to move around. The set at the top, which had easy access to the oats, did not move towards the oats easily. My assumption is that the open environment of the container made the habitat too dry and not easy for slime moulds to live. The other set at the bottom grew faster until they reached the edge of the covering glass. I put some of them outside the glass to see if they could climb up to the oats. However, they stopped moving once the agar became too dry and could not reach the oats. What I learned from this experiment is that even though the desire for food was still there, when the basic factors, such as the habitat, cannot support them, it is impossible for them to even survive.
@@ Line 37: / Line 43: @@
 '''Conclusion'''
-The struggling pattern that I expected to see before the experiments were not be seen the way I had imagined, however, it doesn’t mean that the slime moulds in both experiments did not suffer. The way that the experiments conducted already affects the freedom of living for slime mould itself. Some of them needed to go through a difficult journey, some of them needed to face a severe living environment. In the end, both groups dried out unnaturally in the containers that I put them in.
+The struggling pattern that I had expected to see before conducting the experiments was not observed the way I had imagined. Slime moulds are incredibly clever organisms, hence, they were able to find a way to reach the food source even in challenging circumstances. However, this doesn’t mean that the slime moulds in both experiments did not suffer, as the way that the experiments were conducted already affected their nature. Some of them had to go through a difficult journey, and some of them had to face severe living environments. In the end, both groups dried out unnaturally in the containers where I put them.
-The outcome has affected my thinking process and the original idea of the project a lot. I was looking from the inside to the outside world and wanted to shout and make justice for women and somehow overlooked the fact that I am also part of our society and I might also be part of the problem that I was trying to solve.  Thus, the experiments have opened my perspective to a wider level and also encouraged me to look back to myself deeper inside instead of only asking for acceptance from the society. Yet, I will continue facing and being against the injustice in our patriarchal system and the ridiculous norms that value women by our natural behaviours, in addition to that, I will also empower and encourage more from one woman to another beings regardless their genders in every level.
+I was inspired not only by the beauty of the struggles as a way of growing, but also by the decisive desire that drives them to create new possibilities. I collected my thoughts from the observation and combined them with the Gaga dance practices. Through the framework of connecting our bodies, their bodies, and imaginations, experiencing physical sensations, and emptying ourselves to fill in with new sensations, energy, and movements.
+I compiled the results from both experiments into a video work that aims to portray the sensation of oppression and the desire to be free.
+{{#ev:vimeo|692851609}}
-[[File:Passion Asasu - SEXx Conclusion.jpg|1600px]]
+'''2. The Movement Workshop'''
-'''Visual'''
+The movement workshop employed Gaga dance techniques as a tool to help participants open up their bodies and make them available by emptying old sensations, beliefs, and experiences to create new possibilities. Combining the inspiration of the slime mould's patterns and movements, which embody desire, inner drive, courage, and freedom, the workshop aimed to help participants reconnect and reform their relationships between themselves, their inner needs, and nature.
-The project takes place in 2 rooms with high ceiling and 1 dark room. The first main room exhibits photographs of the two experiments, the photos are printed on transparent glass that can be seen through and from both front and back views. The photos are hanging from the wall on one side of the room. I want visitors to first get to know slime moulds and the idea of the project. The hanging transparent glassy photographs meant to make visitors feel light and open with the introduction of the project written on the wall.
+The first part of the workshop provided a safe space for participants to open up physically and mentally through discussions leading to movement practices that broke down the topic into fragments, allowing participants to gradually let go of their personalities, senses of self, including movements, voices, thoughts, pains, and pasts, and embrace their present state of being without labeling themselves.
-[[File:Passion Asasu - SEXx Installation 2.jpg|1600px]]
+In the final part of the workshop, the energy generated in the first segment was harnessed and channeled through a poetry reading that aimed to encourage participants to express their drives, feelings, and emotions through words. The goal was to empower the participants to freely transform the new energy they had created, unburdened by any fear or hesitation. As the participants embodied their newfound energy, they experienced a sense of renewal, discovering new facets of themselves in their own unique way. This process allowed them to uncover the hidden power within themselves that could be used to empower themselves and others.
-Then the second room with the high ceiling displays the video of the project on a four-meter hanging screen. I want the visitors to experience the beauty of slime mould, the small living organism that are captured by microscope displaying on a big scale screen which is almost 3 times taller than average human height. The contrast of the scale meant to raise awareness of those feelings, emotions, desires that are invisible voices in our society by metaphorically comparing them to slime mould in nature, without microscope, we will not be able to see them living. In the same way, without close attention and caring, we will not be able to see those invisible voices. At the end of the video, the roughness increases in the rhythm and visual which leads the visitors to the last room.
+Overall, the workshop was designed to challenge and inspire participants to break free from their limitations and unleash their creative potential by utilizing Gaga's techniques and drawing inspiration from the movements of slime mould. Participants are encouraged to embrace their innermost desires and passions and to harness the boundless energy within themselves.
-[[File:Passion Asasu - SEXx Installation 1.2.jpg|1600px]]
+The workshop took place on March 25th, 2022, at the DBL (Digital Bauhaus Lab) with two participants: Martin Müller and Lisa Zwinzscher.
-The last room contains microscopic photographs edited in black and white, some are attached to the wall, some are laid down on the floor. This room meant to create an environment that makes visitors to feel uncomfortable. I want to share the feelings of struggling, pressure, oppression and unwelcoming from women that still strongly exist in our patriarchal society. In the end, I hope to increase sympathy to these invisible issues and raise awareness of power that everyone has in order to end the cycle of this ridiculous norm.
+Click to download the workshop plan >>
+[[:File:Passion Asasu - SEXx Movement Workshop.pdf]]
-[[File:Passion Asasu - SEXx Installation 3.jpg|1600px]]
+'''The documentation of the workshop'''
-'''Video'''
+<gallery>
+File:SEXx-movement-workshop-1.jpg
+File:SEXx-movement-workshop-2.jpg
+File:SEXx-movement-workshop-3.jpg
+File:SEXx-movement-workshop-4.jpg
+File:SEXx-movement-workshop-5.jpg
+File:SEXx-movement-workshop-6.jpg
+File:SEXx-movement-workshop-7.jpg
+File:SEXx-movement-workshop-8.jpg
+File:SEXx-movement-workshop-9.jpg
+File:SEXx-movement-workshop-10.jpg
+File:SEXx-movement-workshop-11.jpg
+File:SEXx-movement-workshop-12.jpg
+File:SEXx-movement-workshop-13.jpg
+File:SEXx-movement-workshop-14.jpg
+File:SEXx-movement-workshop-15.jpg
+File:SEXx-movement-workshop-16.jpg
+File:SEXx-movement-workshop-17.jpg
+</gallery>
-The video of the project that shows on the four-meter screen in the second room.
-{{#ev:vimeo|692851609}}
 ----
-'''Special thanks to:'''
+'''Special thanks to:'''<br>
-Martin Müller - Bo Liu - Nicolas Krewer - Cosmo Niklas Schüppel
+Workshop Participants: Martin Müller, Lisa Zwinzscher<br>
+Slime Mould Donation: Nicolas Krewer - Bo Liu - Cosmo Niklas Schüppel<br>
 ----
@@ Line 74: / Line 99: @@
 ===Older Idea and Experiment===
 [[older_idea_and_experiment]]
+===References===
+https://www.gagapeople.com/en/<br>
+https://www.danceadvantage.net/questions-about-gaga/<br>
+https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqO3cn5ME0A<br>