The Frigid Bride became realized for me when I was performing in Mexico
City. I was staying in the bridal shop district, and everywhere I looked
there were women, behind iron gates, sewing in clouds of veils. The
institution of marriage is very strong there and for many it is their
only way to accomodate the fantasy of being royalty. Every woman wants
to look like a princess on her wedding day.I began to think about the brides who were not so willing. In Spanish, the word for bride is "esposa." This word is also used to mean "hand-cuffs." This usage in language already illuminates how the culture views sacred matrimony. I wanted to make my bride vulnerable and fragile, thus I chose to be naked. I taped the body in tiers, somewhat representing the ever present wedding cake. I wanted to show her fear. As I thought of this emotion, I saw the character shivering...and so I arranged layers of ice necklaces on my body, and suddenly it was also about physical endurance. As is typical in my work, I didn't come to this performance with an agenda, just the simple idea of representing an (unconcious) archetype of the frightened, frigid bride.
photo credit: Gulko
