The title of my video installation “La Pou(Belle)”, the beautiful garbage girl, points to the ambivalence of aesthetic judgments especially when these refer to a body (la poi-belle, pou=garbage / belle= beautiful). It is inspired by Maria Antoinette, who represents the beauty stereotypes of the 18th century and the general atmosphere of French Enlightenment, considered as the first example of over-consumption and kitsch extravaganza.

“La Poubelle” is a creature made out of garbage of the 20th and 21st century. A female figure walks around in a wild sea-side setting, seemingly lost and alienated. She is washed up by the raging waves onto the inhospitable rocks along with a bunch of rubbish; the material at once responsible for her creation and destruction. In stark contrast with her body, her dress is constructed out of plastic bags and is with plastic, while she is experiencing the consequences of over-consumption and environmental destruction.

“La Pou(Belle) was presented in the duo show “State of water” in Fokianou Artspace (Athens, 2019) and in the group exhibition at Eleusis European Capital of Culture 2021 (Eleusis, 2019)