Unholy Vessels   2002, remake 2007

made for Kate Neal
being a short parody on Aldous Huxley's "Ape and Essence"
music  Kate Neal
animation  Mendel Hardeman
speaking voice  Rüdiger Meyer
duration  9'30"
original format  video (DV-PAL, 4:3)  with live music


"Good afternoon"

"As you have already been made aware through official channels, our yearly National Week of Genital Behaviour is starting next Friday night. You are kindly instructed to retrieve the genitals you were assigned, as specified below, before this date. Non-compliance in doing so will result in permanent and unconditional exclusion from all future Genital Behaviour events.

"Genitals are assigned for use during Genital Behaviour Week only, and therefore have to be returned before dawn of the first day after the end of celebrations. Failure or delay in doing so will be punished with permanent and irreversable branding of the purple cross over the genital area, the official symbol for people found guilty of genital crime and therefore sentenced to lifelasting exclusion from any Genital Behaviour. In case of any damage or loss ocurring to the genitals, the carrier will be held responsable, and may be punished with beforenamed lifelasting exclusion.

"Genitals are assigned by the Ministry of Reproduction, the different genders and sizes being distributed based on very specific genetic properties of the carrier. Therefore, they are personal and no exchange of genitals is allowed. Any transgression will be severely punished.

"This year you were assigned:
quantity: 1 genital
gender: male
length: S
diameter: M

where S stands for Small, M for Medium, L for Large, XL for Extra Large, XXL for


performance history, 2002 version
21.02.02, Korzo Theater, Den Haag
video and live music. Conducted by Nathan Fuhr
05.06.02, Kees van Baarenzaal, Den Haag
video and live music. Conducted by Nathan Fuhr
11.04.03, World Wide Warehouse, Melbourne, Australia
video and live music.
09.05.03, GEMstones, GEM - Museum voor Actuele Kunst, Den Haag
video with soundtrack
13.02.04, World Wide Warehouse, Melbourne, Australia
video and live music. You can order a DVD of this performance here
25.07.04, Moni Myrthidia, Kythira, Greece
video with soundtrack.





◊ Caress

◊ Kyrie Eleison

◊ EXODUS

◊ a Tree for Glenn Gould

◊ Mann mit Kreuz

◊ Via Crucis

◊ The Cup

◊ Epilogue to Orpheus

◊ Harpsichorpheus

◊ Sysif's Song

◊ Dark Blue Horizon

◊ Times and Tides

◊ Unholy Vessels

◊ INDICTUS

◊ HAP

◊ 7 short attempts to
    write a piece for violin

◊ Reveal thyself Alighieri

◊ Last days of a cross

◊ A Última Quimera

Experiment
◊ the Singing Camera

Zusammenarbeit
◊ Het Dierenparadijs

◊ Tattooed Tongues

◊ Slowly turning narrative

◊ Planecrash

◊ A View on Beauty
Mendel Hardeman archiv 1999-2006
singendes auge