In Hajnal Németh’s videos from the early 2000s, the female characters still try to behave as they should according to tradition, but they are no longer the ones who can or want to live up to these standards. Does a woman have to undress to get noticed or to get close to art, she asks the classic question in this work. Can a woman only appear in art as a represented body, as an object of desire? The protagonist of the video (the artist herself), filmed in one shot without editing, gives a witty answer to these questions. She puts on a red bra under her top (in fast motion) and then takes it off (in slow motion, to sensual music) without revealing anything of her body. In a separate cut at the end, she shows the camera the bright red bra up close, at real speed, waving it happily and triumphantly.
Anna Bálványos