ENCOURAGEMENTS

ANNA RAIMONDO

THE IMAGE GENERATOR
KUNSTHAL EXTRA CITY, 
ANTWERP, SEPTEMBER 29-30, 2023

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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

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