Parents (Mother/Father)

In this work the situation of shooting film as experienced by the subject and filmmaker is most clearly visible in the loving and then hurt facial expression of the mother, who in the end disregards the filmmaker´s instruction and disappears from the picture. The variety in the characters´ reactions is made apparent by the way the father, who doesn´t show his feelings, "sticks it out." While this is happening the viewer is left to deal with this discomfort by him or herself.

(Friedl vom Gröller)


I experience what I do also as an attack on the feelings of my characters. This was particularly extreme when filming Mother and Father. I have never embraced my father and in years only fought with my mother and never put my cheek to hers. And I knew how much she longed for that. And then I did it partly because of the film, as my actions during the filming are also an outlet for longing; and you also see how her facial expression changed – I don´t know if you could see that – how she gets disappointed and a hard facial expression. She also got up and left. The only person that did not remain in the seat like glued to it. There was a minister of councils, I gave him a slap in the face and he faithfully stayed sitting –
only I wasn´t allowed to show the film...

(from an interview with Friedl vom Gröller)