Sanea Hertlein

This thesis proposes the reimagination of the female body as a liminal site through a scientific research paper and a video installation. Liminality describes the condition of being in an ambiguous transitional and unwritten state. Throughout history patriarchy has created the image of the female body as grotesque, monstrous, and an inferior other. Since it can therefore not be classified into a sole category, it lies somewhere in-between and thus becomes a liminal site. The resulting gray area within the binary order undermines and breaks down hegemonial structures, enabling an opportunity for resistance and new narratives. Recognizing the body as a repository of knowledge allows one to reclaim the experienced violence and pain for new awareness. The video installation serves as a visual representation of this reimagination by using the female body as a carrier of experience, memory and consciousness. Through performative physical proximity and distance, an in-between site emerges that allows for a bodily exploration of liminality.