ENCOURAGEMENTS
ANNA RAIMONDO
THE IMAGE GENERATOR
KUNSTHAL EXTRA CITY,
ANTWERP, SEPTEMBER 29-30, 2023
Headphones and phone conversation
out loud
The kind that makes you doubt
if the person is talking to you
or if they are in the middle
of a delusional monologue
Quiet stroll of a woman
in full conversation
Calm and clear voice
The words reach us without efforts
French with an Italian accent
Intimate exchange with complete confidence
In 2014, Anna Raimondo
asked women to share with her
the encouragements they've heard
that made them feel good
Supportive words
that the artist delivers out loud
in a video shot in Brussels' public spaces
park, café terrace, square
as if she was speaking on phone
A slow and warm confidence
to talk without taboos
about self-esteem
life journey and sexual well-being
Amusingly intimate sentences
and an involuntary audience
men at the next table
veiled women in the tram
couples in the park
who hear these words with astonished passivity
Is it the Italian accent which refers to otherness
and concerns us without concerning us?
Is it the respect for a private conversation
that we do not dare to interrupt?
In this indirectness the words flow within us
We absorb them without feeling threatened
but they unfold their effects
Hearing a woman in public
Captivated by a friendly conversation
Distilling maxims
including sexual one
in a peremptory tone but with a Latin charm
And also the furtive smile of the artist
when she realises the significance of her gesture
Roshan Di Puppo