A Given is a reimagining of Marcel Duchamp’s last major work Étant donnés (1946-66). Duchamp’s work invites the viewer to peep through a hole in a door, through which they can see a mannequin lying naked in a verdant landscape with strong overtones of sexual violence. In this animated work, the viewer instead becomes the mannequin, inhabiting her point of view as she comes to life within the installation. Rather than the headless and lifeless body that Duchamp presents, she is given a gaze to stare back through the peep hole. She is empowered and embodied, yet still trapped within the confines of the tableau, unable to escape the handle-less doors or ultimately, her objecthood.

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Text by Ludo Armory

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