Lilian Hess: Duchampiana

The work of director and producer Lilian Hess transcends the boundaries between film, photography and immersive formats. Working between Berlin and London, she uses her extensive training as a graduate of the prestigious Goldsmiths University to question narrative structures. Her works reflect her fascination with the political dimension of the body, particularly focussing on the space for female self-determination.

Recently, Hess has specialised in Extended Realities (XR), creating impressive virtual reality productions that have been shown at prestigious festivals such as the Venice Film Festival and the BFI Film Festival. Her latest installation ‘Duchampiana’ premiered at the 81st Venice Film Festival – Immersive in autumn 2024.

With ‘Duchampiana’, Hess reinterprets Marcel Duchamp’s famous painting ‘Nude Descending A Staircase No. 2’. In her 15-minute VR installation, she questions the objectifying representation of women throughout art history and encourages the protagonist to determine her own path.
The symbolic reversal of this historical representation sets the woman in motion upwards, towards freedom and self-determination – a challenge for the viewers to engage with the social constructs around gender roles.

SLEEK spoke to Lilian Hess about the symbolism of the female body, her motivation for creating ‘Duchampiana’, the challenges during the creative process and how she sees art as a tool for social change.

SLEEK: What motivated you to create “Duchampiana”?

Lilian Hess: The original idea sprang from an essay I read at the Institute for Scalalogy at the University of Regensburg – the only institute in the world that concerns itself with the science of stairs. I was obsessed with the transitory nature of stairs at the time, which is why I knocked on their door. Its founder, Friedrich Mielke, wrote in an essay titled “Stairs in Art” (orig. “Treppen in der Kunst”): “It is only women who are portrayed descending stairs. One could argue it is because the artists are all male.”

This quote made me think about how bodies are portrayed across media and the arts, and how much these images influence our own behaviour, our own movement, especially as women. I’m glad to have found three producers – Sarah Arnaud (Tchikiboum), Kathrin Brunner and Oliver Czeslik (mYndstorm productions) – to explore with me this question, and eventually make “Duchampiana” a reality.

S: In your work “Duchampiana” you play with the symbolism of a female body descending and ascending a staircase. What does this symbolism mean translated to the position of the woman in our society?

LH: Once I had this idea of using movement as a narrative tool, I dove more deeply into the behavioural science around body movement, and what role gender plays in it. The “taking” versus the “making” of space are very gendered actions: a phenomenon that has been increasingly acknowledged by a general public (consider for instance “manspreading”). And it is a phenomenon that is also backed up by science, most famously by Dr. Amy Cuddy in her hypothesis on “power posing”, where she points out (amongst other things) how women have been socialised to make themselves small, accept rather than negotiate, and give rather than prioritise their own needs.

I chose to play with the motion of the ascent firstly, because it is a universally understood symbol: ascending is a motion associated with power, hope, aspiration and strength. This choice also reflects a very specific point I’m trying to make: in reversing the prominent motif of the “nude descending the staircase”, I want to highlight the fact that the female body has historically been portrayed as an object on display; and that it is time to move on and create new, more diverse and, most importantly, empowering archetypes of what it means to be and exist as a woman.

S: How do you interpret the original painting by Duchamp?

LH: Amongst the many artists who interpreted the motif of the nude descending the staircase, Duchamp was the only one to paint a body in motion. Or rather, redefined what a body in motion might look like on the canvas. This is why I chose his painting as a point of departure: because movement itself is the focus. Which role does movement play in art 100 years later? Now we may transcend the canvas and rewrite – or at least reflect upon – art historical representations of the body. In “Duchampiana” we experience the character’s universe through movement, and may ask ourselves what freedom of movement actually means.

S: Are there any particular challenges you faced while working on “Duchampiana”?

LH: There were many challenges the team encountered, from the ambitious AI powered interactive concept (as conceived by i-mmersive), to designing a three dimensional character from a two dimensional painting (Studio Femme Fatale), and finally bringing this very minimalistic world to life through sound (Fritz Rating). Personally, the greatest challenge for me was to conceive of Duchampiana’s movement: how would this character, who finds herself suddenly outside of the canvas in a body that allows her to move with free will, carry herself? And what would her gait suggest about her disposition, her thoughts and emotions?

I was glad to collaborate with dancer and performer Chihiro Kawasaki on the choreography, which we recorded via Motion Capture (Thomas Mahnecke and Alexander Schmidt). It was truly fascinating to see how the seemingly mundane act of walking stairs could be interpreted in so many ways.

S: Are there any personal experiences or values that significantly influence your work?

LH: My experience as a woman in a world that often marginalises the female perspective as ‘niche’ is likely the most significant personal influence on my art. However, rather than making explicit political statements or superimposing my own intention on anyones experience, my priority is for audiences to feel their way through my work. To evoke intuitive, associative responses and create spaces that foster a sense of presence.

S: How has the process of creating “Duchampiana” influenced your view of art and its role?

LH: In broad terms, I’d say it’s generally agreed upon that the role of art is to challenge and expand society’s understanding of cultural values, redefine notions of beauty, and question the limitations of political structures. I don’t think creating this piece has shifted my view of art and its role so much as my view of my own practise and my relationship with this particular medium.

Virtual, augmented and mixed reality, and other forms of digital media, yet have to earn their place within the world of fine art. I am passionate about creating work that carries intellectual and conceptual weight towards a future where this might change.