This Is Your Messiah Speaking
(Heerlen / Dr. Poelstraat 27)
Since the mid-70s, Vera Frenkel (1938) has challenged the boundaries of the media she works with. She is interested in migration and the displacement of people, in how memory functions and the ever-increasing production of experiences. In This Is Your Messiah Speaking, Frenkel presents a text that she wrote, which is intertwined with the same message in gestural language. The words are spoken or handwritten in chalk or paint and sometimes they are subtitled. There are repetitions, but with subtle changes added and at different speeds. The video compares and connects two activities in which people try to find enlightenment: consuming and searching for a Messiah. With her wording, Frenkel tries to connect these activities with each other and she reveals the psychological motor of Western culture. The video is a poetic and ironic mix of visual energy, a compelling story, and witty humour.