An act of hanging
November 20 7PM performance & opening reception
November 24 7.30PM artist talk
Studio Kein, Istanbul, Turkey
On november 20, Marieke Warmelink presented An act of hanging during the opening reception of the exhibition Alice, curated by Sine Ergun at Studio Kein, Istanbul, Turkey. With An act of hanging, Warmelink responds to the Paris attacks of 14-11-2015.
Warmelink is, hanging of the ceiling of Studio Kein, wearing a white shirt, black tie and french coloured angel wings. One could hear the The French National anthem playing in the space and an English translation of the lyrics was projected onto the shirt of the artist.
Warmelink wanted to challange her endurance by hanging of the ceiling, which in this case lasted 25 seconds.
With An act of hanging Warmelink questions the role of political leaders conveying themselves as saviors of the nation, convinced of being indestructible using nationalism as a means to gain power, spread fear and intolerance. In the light of current international political affairs Warmelink's point of view is clear; Those driven by illusion cannot win, as gravity has no mercy. One cannot pretend to have powers one does not have.
La Marseillaise
French National Anthem
La Marseillaise was composed by Claude-Joseph Rouget de Lisle in 1792 and was declared the French national anthem in 1795.
Let's go children of the fatherland,
The day of glory has arrived!
Against us tyranny's
Bloody flag is raised! (repeat)
In the countryside, do you hear
The roaring of these fierce soldiers?
They come right to our arms
To slit the throats of our sons, our friends!
Refrain
Grab your weapons, citizens!
Form your batallions!
Let us march! Let us march!
May impure blood
Water our fields!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
This horde of slaves, traitors, plotting kings,
What do they want?
For whom these vile shackles,
These long-prepared irons? (repeat)
Frenchmen, for us, oh! what an insult!
What emotions that must excite!
It is us that they dare to consider
Returning to ancient slavery!
What! These foreign troops
Would make laws in our home!
What! These mercenary phalanxes
Would bring down our proud warriors! (repeat)
Good Lord! By chained hands
Our brows would bend beneath the yoke!
Vile despots would become
The masters of our fate!
Tremble, tyrants! and you, traitors,
The disgrace of all groups,
Tremble! Your parricidal plans
Will finally pay the price! (repeat)
Everyone is a soldier to fight you,
If they fall, our young heros,
France will make more,
Ready to battle you!
Frenchmen, as magnanimous warriors,
Bear or hold back your blows!
Spare these sad victims,
Regretfully arming against us. (repeat)
But not these bloodthirsty despots,
But not these accomplices of Bouillé,
All of these animals who, without pity,
Tear their mother's breast to pieces!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Sacred love of France,
Lead, support our avenging arms!
Liberty, beloved Liberty,
Fight with your defenders! (repeat)
Under our flags, let victory
Hasten to your manly tones!
May your dying enemies
See your triumph and our glory!
Refrain
We will enter the pit
When our elders are no longer there;
There, we will find their dust
And the traces of their virtues. (repeat)
Much less eager to outlive them
Than to share their casket,
We will have the sublime pride
Of avenging them or following them!
Refrain
Translated by Laura K. Lawless
