Aline Zeltner
Lideslied

Lideslied is the first video work by the Swiss artist Aline Zeltner, who initially worked mainly with objects, installations and performances. In a larger-than-life projection, shown in slow motion against the backdrop of rhythmic string sounds, a woman rides on a gleaming brown horse from the depths of a summer-green meadow towards the viewer. The contents – a young and beautiful woman rider – and the form – slow motion – meet the classic criteria for a romantic narrative. This idea is supported by the deliberate similarity of the title Lideslied (eyelid song) to "Liebeslied" (love song). As the title also indicates, however, the contents break away from the familiar genre: Zeltner adds a pair of oversized wooden glasses before the rider’s eyes, whose rims protrude, caricature-like, far beyond them and seem to explicitly emphasize their gaze. The glasses are an already-existing work of the artist’s. In the place of lenses, a string is stretched over the eyes, which brushes the eyelashes when the eyes open and close. The accentuated process of gazing thus composes the literally meant, self-reflexive Lideslied.

(Text: Bettina Back)