Motopista is a mythical site in the skirts of Vitoša Mountain enclosed in the territory of the medieval city Sredec nowadays called Sofia. This area transformed from a public venue for racing and recreational activities in the 80s to an abandoned zone in the 90s, where instances of misconduct reportedly increased. Historical accounts indicate that it became a high-risk area, particularly perceived as dangerous and taboo. Despite warnings, the area increasingly attracts dark tourism. Due to this development, we have a frst record of an unusual local secretive practice for retrieval of virginity.
The work explores in a playful way the Western gaze that frames the East as „the other“, which is backward, less evolved. The set-up is mocking a somewhat ethnographical representation and documentation of the discovery of a local feminine ritual. The accompanying text serves as a report, a backstory to this discovery. It contributes to a tone that embodies a sense of superiority and detachment of Western ongoing narratives about the East.
In this context, the work critiques the power dynamics at play, showing how the act of „othering“ serves to reinforce Western superiority while simultaneously mystifying and exotifying places and cultures, obscuring the complexity and dehumanization of identities. In parallel, it challenges the patriarchal myth of virginity, simultaneously placing the female body amidst both discourses discourse, where the female body is exotisized and oversexualised.
@ „Ignorance and Honesty“
Giegling in Walzwerk
Basel, 2021
Vol. 2
