My Body is a Cage faces up to the human dignity in old age. Common age-related conditions like incontinence, missing teeth or limited mobility are conceived as degrading by many people. In the process of my work I examined how and if a person‘s dignity can be retained, even after the loss of his physical health. My grandfather has many health problems, with the result that he cannot manage the everyday life alone. Therefore my grandmother cares for the entire housekeeping, also for the care of my grandfather. Nevertheless, it is difficult, that he does not want to be a burden to anyone. This situation, in which my grandparents are, affects more and more people nowadays.
The evermore successful treatment of diseases results in higher life expectancies. The body is kept alive, but how much quality of living remains? This very personal topic is expressed on an equally personal level in My Body is a Cage. I chose to live with my grandparents for a considerable time and observe their daily life, in order to influence my grandparents‘ behavior as minimal as possible.
I tell a story about an old couple, the protagonists of my work, in form of a photo book. They manage to take their monotone but exhausting daily routine calmly with an accepting ease. A mixture of ordinary and strange moments – situations that are usually hidden behind closed doors – reflects their life. The photographs are accompanied by explanatory texts. Two videos, that are recorded with an action cam, portray a whole day in my grandparents‘ life from their perspectives. On the one hand they are inwrought in my book, on the other hand they operate as an independent work in form of exhibition-installation. The fate of my protagonists should not be dramatized in my project. Instead, a multifaceted and direct impression of their life is mediated. Hereby, the viewer obtains an honest insight into the topic of aging.