dressin(g)progress #2
digital nostalgia
This project offers a powerful exploration of feminist theory by interrogating the tensions between tradition, modernity, and the evolving cultural norms shaped by younger generations. Drawing from her multicultural heritage and online experiences, Yelena uses performance art to make tangible the clash between age-old traditions and contemporary subcultures. Her work highlights how young people, often at the intersection of these forces, navigate and redefine societal expectations, creating new norms, values, and aesthetics in the process. This performance centers on a staged photoshoot, a setting that evokes themes of identity, representation, and objectification. Over 30 minutes, the audience witnesses the transformation of the model through dressing, styling, and makeup, culminating in a dramatic climax when the model is obscured under a black cloth. The symbolic act of veiling the model and capturing her image with a Polaroid critiques the commodification and erasure of individual identity, especially as it pertains to women. The model’s abandonment on stage, followed by the performers’ exit, creates a poignant moment of absence, leaving the audience to confront the cultural constructs they have just witnessed. Through this layered performance, Yelena engages with feminist themes of visibility and power, questioning who controls the narrative of representation and whose voices are heard in the creation of cultural ideals. The nostalgic music and the empty stage further evoke a sense of loss and reflection, encouraging the audience to consider the stakes of this ongoing cultural struggle. By making these dynamics visible and visceral, Yelena's project becomes an incisive critique of societal structures, urging viewers to rethink how traditions and subcultures shape the identities of women and the generations to come.
Crew: Yelena Myshko, Stefan Immanuel Fiole, Mark Stadman, Julia Hendriks, Sophia Peroti
