Midlife Crisis Pop Songs
-description of the project and its different parts.
Through music, text, film and performance I question the norms regarding relationships, gender roles, sexuality, monogamy and the patriarchal structures in which we all live.
It is a story about taking ownership of one’s life story, and the ownership of one’s body and sexuality. I take you along my wobbling journey from my first feelings of shame and discomfort into a lifestyle that allows me to trust myself, my body and my desires.
As I turned 50 I dived into a parallel universe of non monogamy and sexual exploration. How come I had been missing out on all this pleasure before? All these taboos and norms we’re supposed to fit into, why is it still that so much regarding our sexuality is such a sensitive topic?
The basis for my work is my personal journey from a well behaved normative life into the exploration of what can happen if I step out of the expectations, both my own and those of people around me.
So many women my age are fed up with the boundaries that keep us in place. We are at the top of our capacity. We stand proud and strong ready for the next chapter.
But as we strip naked and expose ourselves in front of each other in the most intimate ways, we also balance on the edge between the most beautiful and the most ugly we as humans can do to each other. It is this balancing act that fascinates me. I balance both within myself and I see how all the people around me constantly have to relate to, parry, and deal with this knife’s edge. I am increasingly aware of the limitations I, and society at large, have set for myself.
The project has to date four different parts that interact or stand as singular artworks.
1: The music:
I make electronic music since a few years after being a visual artist through my career.
The way I ventured into a completely new form of expression is a crucial part of the work itself. It discussed a way to conquer the stagnation in art and life that followed in the footsteps of my crisis. The lyrics that came out are tackling the life questions that had to be asked and handled. I produce my music and am just about to release my second EP.
2: The book:
After a while I felt there was even more text that I needed to write, that couldn’t fit into the format of song lyrics. So I wrote a book. I call it: “TO BALANCE ON THE EDGE BETWEEN THE MOST BEAUTIFUL AND THE MOST UGLY – a report of my midlife crisis and my sex life”.
I am just about to release the text as an audio book. Parallel to that I am looking for a publisher who wants to release it as a printed book.
3: The performance:
I perform my music in different contexts, it can be regular music venues and within a gallery context as well. Mostly it’s live performances, but I have also taken part in exhibitions with music videos and text. I have also combined the music with excerpts from the book, as a performative reading.
4: The show:
I am currently working on a large scale show that will not only include the text and the music, but also choreography, video and stage design.