Review / Masterclass 'Mouth' by Naomi Filmer

‘The mouth functions to figure and sustain the body as a subject, a subject within a network of relations.’ (Brandon LaBelle)

‘The mouth also draws into tension the relation between language, as an abstract socializing system, and our embodied, sensual experiences.’ (Brandon LaBelle)

The focus of this workshop was to look at how our anatomy can be the subject that informs our work in various aspects, not simply the subject that bears it. In this workshop they looked at the mouth. They approached the mouth from physical, experiential and metaphoric aspects to inform creative and analytical thinking. The translation of this thinking was explored through materials and in relation to the body, form and proportion.

To break the ice, each participant spoke about his or her work and personal fascination in relation to the mouth. Naomi gave examples of designers that let themselves be inspired by the broad spectrum of functions and associations that a mouth has to offer, such as the American jewellery designer Lauren Kalman. After a quiet beginning, Naomi invited the group, which consisted of students, alumni and outsiders, to draw. Using their sense of touch, they made a series of sketches of the inside of their mouth. The sketches were made with various materials in different time spans. After the two-dimensional work came the three-dimensional sketching. Sketches were now made in clay on the basis of what one could feel in the oral cavity, after which participants experimented on the basis of sight. The introduction concluded with the printing and casting of the participating mouths. The participants were given the task of realizing a work based on the experiences of the first day. This could be the mouth itself or the accompanying sensations and associations.

During the rest of the week, the students were given the possibility to work in the presence of Naomi Filmer. Every day she discussed with them their personal developments and evolution. In the beginning many of them found it difficult to loosen themselves from a literal representation of the mouth. The social and political associations that a mouth evokes remained rather in the background. Naomi stimulated and incited the students during the feedback moments to think further about these associations. The book Lexicon of the Mouth: Poetics and Politics of Voice and the Oral Imaginary incited some of them to take a less literal approach in their work. One participant worked on the stutter, for instance. The reading of Brandon LaBelle made her see the poetic potential that is inherent to stuttering.

At the end of the week, on Friday evening, a presentation took place at Campus Congres. The students deliberately chose not to give a title to the event and nowhere to mention the word ‘mouth’. Given the great diversity of experiments and results, they felt that the content was sufficiently clear. The variety of disciplines and backgrounds ensured stratification in content and outcome. The students presented their work one at a time. Many of the pieces change once worn or stripped of presentation elements. The objects covered a spectrum of fitness devices for the mouth, costumes, sculptures and videos about the visualization of breathing and the voice, a bell collection and edible tongues. The works emerged out of already existing projects and personal experiences as well as out of the conversion of an idea into a three-dimensional object. Both students and the guest lecturer Naomi Filmer were pleased with the results and the developments of the week as a whole. The presentation was always concluded with a short appraisal of the progress that had been made and possible further developments.

Text: Leonie Persyn
Translation: Patrick Lennon
Pictures: Svetlana Prigoditch