Lecture (10/13) - What is a woman for? asks Leni Zumas in her recent novel. Red Clocks tells the story of four different women, each named and defined by their role (i.e. ‘The Wife’, ‘The Daughter’). Discussing the (biological) clock and other methods of time management, Simon(e) questions the many ways we tend to disguise (gender) performance as natural or innate. A woman follows a design of time when using the pill, with each day of the week prescribed. Inspired by Paul Preciado’s text The Architecture of Sex, Simon(e) will explore the daily ways that time and design create and influence our lives.
Simon(e) van Saarloos (Summit, VS, 1990) is a writer, performer and philosopher, who has published several books, amongst which Enz. Het Wildersproces, De vrouw die and Het monogame drama. Simon(e) is currently working on a book on commemoration, focussing on queer memory. Simon(e) also writes for theatre and music and is currently a first year MA student at DAI.
Photo by Frank Ruiter
Poster by Dayna Casey
Simon(e) van Saarloos
Installation by Natalia Nikoniuk
Time: a Corset we Wear Every Day by Simon(e) van Saarlos
What is a woman for?
(Grandmother) Mother, Daughter, Sister, Partner
The understanding of the role of time in a woman’s life is tightly linked to their biological clock, intrinsically designed to distinguish the appropriate periods for the multiple roles one has to fulfil. The words (Grandmother) Mother, Daughter, Sister, Partner written in white chalk on black wall aren’t simply there to state the obvious – they are a reminder that the imposed sequence of identity can be broken. Naturally, it takes a daughter to become a grandmother yet sometimes all it takes it to be a partner. As much as one should acknowledge the variety of influences and roles they play within a society, instead of surrendering to the ‘natural’ order of things, women can also reflect and perhaps re-define the meanings behind those outlined positions.