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Jochen Gerz «The Head of M»
Jochen Gerz, «The Head of M», 1977
Photograph: Clemens Dinkloh | ©


 Jochen Gerz
«The Head of M»

This installation, no. 7 in the 'Griechische Stücke' ('Greek Pieces’) series, consists of the two-fold reproduction – with a sickle and petrified mirror as sculpture and as video – of the mythological figure of Medusa, who died ‘because her own image turned her into stone’. The only movement on the tape is that of the camera as it zooms in and out to observe the actor. The double refraction of the self-image into ideal on the one hand and disillusionment on the other is further duplicated by the physical presence of a sculptural figure as well as a video simulation. The only sound is the hissing of the monitor.