In front of the chapel of the Norbertine nuns lies a small pond with a small island in it that is not accessible to visitors. Above it hovers a modest stainless steel sculpture like a phantom of sorts. Subtly sparkling in the sunlight, it resembles a piece of cloth or a veil covering a head. Every now and then, its reflecting surface makes it almost blend into the green of the environment.
Cloth refers to religious practices and traditions, but also to the role that the image of the female and the female body played and plays in Abrahamic religions. Covering the female hair is often seen as a sign of patriarchal domination. At the same time, wearing a headscarf remains a meaningful spiritual accessory for some women in various cultures and communities. Because of the association with the mourning Virgin Mary carrying her dead son on her lap, this cloth is also a symbol of grief and comfort.
With this ambivalent and iconographically complex object, Schlegel subtly leads spectators to reflect on their perception of ‘a woman’ and ‘femininity’, on suppression, freedom of choice and self-determination. But also on respect, motherhood, mourning and religiosity. Views that, like the sculpture itself, can shift, turn and change.
Cloth