Leila Hekmat's 'Female Remedy' at Haus am Waldsee Reinterprets Historical Hysteria Through Satirical Installation
Leila Hekmat's inaugural institutional exhibition, titled 'Female Remedy,' is currently on display at Berlin's Haus am Waldsee until 8 January. In this showcase, the artist transforms the historical concept of female hysteria, once diagnosed in the 18th and 19th centuries, into a source of empowerment. The installation includes fabrics with lace patterns, collages depicting hybrid women, mannequins dressed in patient gowns, and a wooden platform inscribed with 'trust me with your troubles.' Beds exhibit diagnoses such as 'Jewish lesbian witch.' A soundscape features feminist phrases like 'tampons should be free.' Additionally, the 90-minute performance 'Symptom Recital: Music for Wild Angels' presents explicit narratives in the style of Weimar cabaret, as Hekmat critiques the misogynistic roots of hysteria and the societal roles imposed on women.
Key facts
- Leila Hekmat's first institutional exhibition is 'Female Remedy' at Haus am Waldsee in Berlin
- The exhibition runs through 8 January
- Hekmat is a Los Angeles-born, Berlin-based artist
- The show recasts symptoms of female hysteria as positive forces
- Historical hysteria was diagnosed in the 18th and 19th centuries for behaviors making men uncomfortable
- Symptoms included anxiety, fainting, insomnia, and loss of appetite for food or sex
- Feminist historians argue these symptoms resulted from women's oppressed social roles
- The installation includes collages, mannequins, a nail-pierced platform, and beds with comical diagnoses
- A 90-minute performance titled 'Symptom Recital: Music for Wild Angels' accompanied the exhibition
- The performance featured a five-strong cast in Weimar cabaret style sharing explicit sexual stories
- Hekmat references Theatre of the Absurd and Commedia dell'Arte in her work
- The exhibition critiques misogynistic medicalization of feminine behaviors
- Mannequins wear costumes with 'Krankensister' embroidery and erotic lingerie
- Collages combine male and female body parts, blurring gender lines
- Fabrics display feminist slogans like 'tampons should be free' and 'bad girls go to hell'
- Hysteria patients were often sent to asylums or received surgical hysterectomies
Entities
Artists
- Leila Hekmat
- Hannah Höch
- Bertolt Brecht
Institutions
- Haus am Waldsee
- ArtReview
Locations
- Berlin
- Germany
- Los Angeles
- United States