‘Obviously, Doctor, you’ve never been a 13-year-old girl’
The Virgin Suicides, dir. Sofia Coppola, Paramount Classics, 1999
Fairy tales and fables are one of the first stories we encounter, even before we learn to read. Their language, images, and morals deeply affect us and stay with us for a long time. The works that are part of ‘The Virgin Suicides’ exhibition resemble fragments of dreams – derived from the memory and imagination of a child. They create a story about growing up and loss.
Here collages do not serve as an escape, but rather become a tool through which it is possible to talk aboutexperiences too complex, too intimate to be captured explicitly. The artist uses a variety of archives, including her own photos, images found on the internet, and authentic diaries – those of her own, her sister’s and friends.
The project addresses the duality of the feminine experience, the suspension between no longer being a girl but not yet a woman – a state between innocence and eroticism, dependence and the yearning for autonomy. It’s the moment when the body ceases to be pure and neutral and begins to be perceived as a ‘woman’s body.’
The symbolism present in the images comes from fairy tales and old textbooks; it is open to interpretation, intuitive, and personal. Godyń does not impose any version of the story, rather builds a space for the viewer to confront their own memories, fears, and ideas of femininity, coming of age, and the body.