holloway-das-gift-is-a-gift

Medusa’s rage is spouted out in Céline Struger’s wishing wells, in both, the Gorgon’s petrified emotion is breathing vigorously. She keeps an eye on passersby, who have thrown away desires with sacrifice. A tractor has cultivated a passage, where unspoken wishes and recurring fury meet. Alongside her wishing wells, speculative trophies of Medusa are hanging from the ceiling — assemblages of fragmented bones, butchered body parts, and a bear trap, growling for prey. The dubious rituals still carry pieces of desire in secrecy — potions and lead casting. Confronting the toxicity of the patriarchy, potion makers controlled male sexuality with their potions. ’Das Gift’ is a gift.  As if opening grandmother’s handwritten remedy book, scattered nostalgia haunts current matter, melting superstition into metal. Taking inspiration from research on a myriad of mythologies from Corinthia to Carinthia, Céline Struger is digging, stirring, and overturning historical references and sculpting the present with personal emotions and memories. Will Bleigießen show a better tomorrow? It depends on how we want to read its molten wishes.