Siren Spirit

In Hamlet, Ophelia's grief and the decline of her mental health is due to the actions of men. In classical paintings, her violent death of drowning in the lake is portrayed as a calm and erotic peacefulness. What if, after Ophelia drowns in the lake, that she re-emerges from the water as a grief-stricken, angry siren. In this afterlife, how can Ophelia be laid to rest and finally be freed from her grief? 

At the time of my birth, an astrologer told my family that I should stay away from water. In ‘Siren Spirit’, I look at the emergence and disappearance of myths of mermaids and sirens as a way to examine hybrid bodies, between technological possibilities and new forms of humanity. Created both as a live audiovisual performance, as well as a video installation, the work experiments with digital tools, methods of filming the body and processing digital data as a sculpture.

Siren Spirit emerged as a reflection on Ophelia, the artist’s fear of the water, and the desire to imagine an afterlife where Ophelia is powerful. Through the embodiment of the myth of the siren, the artist creates a self portrait that transforms the site of Ophelia’s demise, the water, as an extension of the body. An entity swimming in pixels.