VIVIANE SASSEN

Etan & Me, 2014

'This is me, looking at you, looking at me. This is you, looking at me, looking at you.

Etan & Me is a story of love and loss, of Eros and Thanatos.

Are we ever able to truly know someone, to truly know ourselves?

If I look at the Other, do I see my own shadow? If I am able to capture the face of a man, will I be able to hold onto him forever? Like the young girl who traced the outline of her lover's face on the wall, his shadow cast by a candle, in the myth of the Origin of Painting by Pliny the Elder.

And if I look at myself, can I ever get a clear view of who I am? Or will my reflection always be blurry, like Narcissus who stretched his arms into the water to embrace himself, only to find a scattered Self?

When I look at my shadow, I see you. When I look at your reflection, I see me'.