Noot is just material for a contemporary art performance. Nor is it just a provocation to that certain widespread difficulty of meeting “the right person”. Sologamy, or the act of marrying oneself, is a phenomenon that tells of a real and very serious need, expression of an intimate philosophy aimed at self-care and one’s inner well-being. Is it necessary to get to sign a wedding certificate in order to regain the ranks of oneself? Maybe not. But what if it were?
“I’m getting married, with myself.” Sologamy, from Japan to the USA
The practice has been around for decades in Japan: there are agencies that offer weddings “just-wedding”, in great demand. The trend is growing especially among women who crave the romance of the ceremony but not the commitment of a real marriage (especially with another person).
Instead, the twenty-four year old broke a taboo in India Kshama Binduof Vadodara. Openly bisexual, on 8 June he celebrated the first “sologamo” wedding in the country. She did it in style, with all the wedding rituals usually reserved for a couple, from mehendi (the henna on the hands and feet) at thehaldi (paste based on turmeric, chickpea flour, sandalwood and rose water, also applied to the skin of the bride and groom) .
Sologamy has been talked about in the West for quite a while. It was 1993 when a certain Linda Baker celebrated her first 40 years by marrying herself. What she announced that she also wanted to do Carrie Bradshaw, played by Sarah Jessica Parker, in an episode of Sex and the City (it was 2003).
From Sex and the City to Adriana Lima
But also Emma Watson, Adriana Lima and the Broadway singer, Fantasia Barrino, have told of having married themselves, complete with a – symbolic – ring on their finger (obviously, without giving up on other relationships!). Personal choice, lived in private, or advertised in a big way: everyone gets married in their own way. And a San Francisco company, IMarriedMe.comoffers a personal wedding kit with packages to suit all budgets.
The artistic performance on Sologamia
He worked on this phenomenon the Vicenza artist Elena Ketra: his Sologamy will be presented by the Solares Foundation of the Arts from 13 to 16 July a Videocittà, the Festival of vision and digital cultureat the Gasometer of Rome. Sologamy “is the awareness of oneself and one’s own abilities, strength and beauty, beyond uniforming aesthetic, social and sexual diktats. Social inclusion starts first of all from ourselves», says the artist.
An area in the section dedicated to contemporary art called “Agorà Expo” will be dedicated to the Sologamy project. Anyone who wants to get married to themselves, entering their data thanks to a touchscreen screen, “by virtue of art and love” will be able to do so with a certificate attesting to their sologamic marriage. A certificate, signed by the artist, which is a unique work.
Sologamy does not necessarily mean rejection of the other and withdrawal into oneself. Indeed, as Ketra explains: «Learning to love yourself is necessary in order to be able to freely love every other human being. It is the affirmation of one’s emotional independence, the awareness of oneself and one’s abilities, strength and beauty, beyond uniforming aesthetic, social and sexual diktats. Social inclusion starts first of all from ourselves “.
From rocking brass knuckles for fierce little girls to fetish mirrors: who is Elena Ketra
Ketra’s first works around this concept date back to 2021: a series of mirrored plates on which a stylized multi-level wedding cake is imprinted. At the top is a female, male and neutral chess piece. The work dialogues with another work-mirror “Forget-not”.
Other notable works by Elena Ketra? We remember “Girl power 4010“, a rocking brass knuckles for fierce little girlsthe series “serial mirrors“, fetish mirrors reflecting stories of female killers, e utereyes, the uterus with eyes that does not suffer but chooses (above, in a Facebook post). You have exhibited in various solo and group exhibitions, from the Madre Museum in Naples, to the MAM in Mantua, to the Silesian Museum in Katowice (PL) and to the Stichting Artes in Amsterdam. In 2022 you won the exibart prize in the section dedicated to inclusion.
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