How can my inner persona be converted to the outside world?

The answer to this question became HUGO. HUGO puts his emotions, fears and thoughts on display through a live performance. HUGO was born from my process of the dream research and translating this dreamworld into an artistic form: the performance. Hugo is my third name, but on official documents, like my passport, only the first letter ‘H.’ is shown. Therefore, HUGO became the name for the expression of my inner self. I designed and made 6 different costumes and masks for HUGO. By wearing the mask, HUGO gains anonymity and feels no shame. Every costume feels different and brings a different atmosphere into the performance. Besides this, the costumes have a functional use. The masks and costumes have a certain punk content, which gives HUGO strength and the appearance of a fighter. I associate painting with fighting in this case, since HUGO expresses emotions and fears in a brutal way.

During the live performance HUGO needs music and dance. The (electronic/hip hop) music makes HUGO’s heart pound and speaks to HUGO’s subconscious. HUGO finds himself in the zone of my dreamworld. He dances and feels that all images flash into his sight. I call this ‘the flow’. The twenty minute performance is very intense and lived in a unique unconscious world. Because of this, it is always a surprise for Annelies to see the final result. The performance has a certain connection to action painting, because it is spontaneous and not carefully painted.

HUGO has some brutality in his work, as well as a slight sexiness, a touch of humor and self-mockery. He is shameless, playful, a doer and gives Annelies balls. Besides the costume, the setting and the music, the audience plays a small part as well. HUGO feels the presence of the audience and they give him the right amount of pressure to perform. This pressure keeps him in ‘the flow’. HUGO expresses my inner artistic communication in an honest and authentic way through the live performance. HUGO is male, but wears costumes that are unisex. Gender identity is another interesting theme when studying the figure of HUGO. He has fictitious balls, but dances like a woman. If HUGO were to choose between ‘female’, ‘male’ or ‘x’, he would indicate ‘x’.