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— Danae | 2013
Koen Theys

5-channel video installation, HDV 16:9

Colour, Sound

14'04"

In his video installation DANAE, Koen Theys assembles a collage of amateur footage featuring anonymous women engaged in 'twerking'—a contemporary dance form characterised by rhythmic hip thrusts and intense bodily movements, often in a low squatting stance.

 

Sourced in abundance from the internet, this material points to a phenomenon where these women seem capable of interacting with the outside world solely through their webcams. Theys draws a provocative parallel between this modern isolation and the Greek myth of Danae, a theme that has captivated artists throughout art history.

 

According to the myth, Danae’s father, Acrisius—warned by an oracle that Danae’s future son would one day kill him—confined her to prevent her from conceiving a child. Yet Zeus, in defiance of mortal constraints, penetrated her cell in the form of light and golden rain, evoking themes of penetration and the divine in captivity.

Theys reinterprets the myth, modifying the light within the amateur clips to pour evocatively into the women's rooms through windows, televisions, or computer screens. This manipulation creates a symbolic resonance, suggesting a longing for connection that transcends the limits of these digital enclosures. Each clip appears as an attempt to grasp the world's attention, yet the medium itself—paradoxically—transforms this into a portrayal of isolation and vulnerability. Faces remain concealed, underscoring the impersonal nature of the bodies in submissive, repetitive gestures, while the banal interiors—suburban apartments with muted décor—reveal little about the lives within.

 

Theys's framing adopts the distance of a sociological study, transforming the cumulative footage into a lyrical, unsettling reflection on humanity, as a species both lost and disturbingly insect-like, enacting a new postindustrial ritual in the absence of genuine connection.

Credits:

  • Produced by Koen Theys

  • Concept, Realisation and Editing: Koen Theys​

Screenings:

 

  • 2017: Scientific-Research Museum of the Academy of Arts of Russia, Saint-Petersburg (RU)

  • 2017: At The Gallery, Antwerp (BE)

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