ID

Mimi Minus on the escalator of horror. Mara Mattuschka´s alter ego once again sets off on a tour de force of physical renunciation. First she goes into a tumble when the ground is pulled out from under her feet. Caught in a weightless space, she undergoes a strange metamorphosis. Mimi´s body is subjected to unnatural forces and gradually deforms, her skin ruptures and - as if the human shell were only an intermediate stage in the process of evolution - is shed like a cocoon; a reptilian monster emerges.

In her own inimitable way, as is familiar from her 16mm films, performance artist Mara Mattuschka´s new work (the first on video) ironically addresses the construction of identity and physical homogeneity. In ID elements of the horror-movie genre are given an explicitly trashy look in a fresh and carefree manner, the intention being a witty game with components of pop-culture codes (for example, the latex masks and the use of simple digital backgrounds and effects are excellent). After returning to a now surreal world, this creature meets its doppelgänger, engaging in a weird mating ritual with itself, so to speak. This leads to a cannibalistic conclusion, an act that almost takes us back to the front of the escalator in an impossible circular turn. Almost, because each transformation represents a simultaneous shift. But the "thing" is more persistent than we think and always leaves something behind.

(Gerald Weber)

Translation: Steve Wilder


Mara Mattuschka’s alter ego Mimi Minus makes a triumphant switch from 16mm to video. A ride up an escalator becomes a trip down to the subconscious, where bizarre ID monsters flirt, dance and fight. Liquids bubble and body parts fly in a cannibalistic death match for control of the psyche.

(7th Antimatter Underground Film Festival, 2004)