Why are you angry ?

Date: 2017
Medium: Video
Dimensions: Film 16mm
Collection: Fonds de dotation Famille Moulin - Pré-acquisition 2015
© Lafayette Anticipations
The title of this 16mm film, Why are you angry?, is inspired by this of Paul Gauguin’s work in 1896 which was entitled No Te Aha Oe Riri. The artist duo Nashashibi/Skaer deconstructs the iconic representation of Tahitian women in Paul Gauguin’s paintings.
In this piece, the artists situate the female figure as subject and author, rather than mere object of the male artist’s gaze. This concept, theorized in 1975 by feminist filmmaker Laura Mulvey, defines the biased construction of femininity by the male creator. In their film, Nashashibi/Skaer borrow from Gauguin’s work, staging their contemporary female models in poses similar to those found in the postimpressionists’ pieces, while granting the subjects a newfound agency: the liberty to not observe the spectator in turn. By reexamining these scenes, the artists topple the male gaze: the representation of women by women, inviting the spectator to observe the subjects through a different lens.

Production specifications

The Fondation preserves and documents traces of the works at various stages of their creation (sketches, models, prototypes, etc.).
Note d'intention des artistes
12 September 2017
Réception artistique du film "Why are you angry?"
La vidéo est considérée comme un "modèle de représentation éthique d'autres cultures et des risques que cela peut engendrer"
09 April 2017
"Why are you angry?" (2017) est présenté au Musée national d’art contemporain d’Athènes dans le cadre de Documenta 14.
08 March 2017
Projet de film
22 April 2016
La Fondation Lafayette Anticipations soutient le projet de plusieurs artistes dont celui des artistes Rosalind Nashashibi et Lucy Skaer.
08 March 2016
Pré-acquisition de l'oeuvre "Why are you angry?" par le Fonds de dotation Famille Moulin
31 December 2014