Eva Beresin

Offstage

Opening 16.1.25

Exhibition: 17.1. - 8.3.25

The work in the exhibition was painted onstage during the two months of rehearsals and eleven performances of the play “Alte Meisterin” at the Kosmos Theatre, Vienna in October 2024, produced by makemake produktionen and directed by Sara Ostertag.

On the fifth day of rehearsals, just imagine me, an “old master” standing on a rehearsal stage surrounded by young, creative feminists. In the air is a chaotic mix of music, movement, bits of text and the unmistakable smell of vegan coffee ;) I am like a speck of dust in the wind - a relic from the past trying to assert itself in the storm of the present. We work with feminist quotes, Maria Lassnig’s sometimes profound, sometimes desperate texts and her works, while I try to create my own work from this mixture.

As I struggle with my inner conflict between my experience and my history, and an approach to the women’s movement that is totally new to me, I see myself as a dinosaur on a dancefloor, awkward, with a strong reluctance to dance along.

In a particularly intense moment, I almost hear: “Come on, old master, let’s beat the patriarchs to death with our splashes of colour!” But I can’t do that, it doesn’t work like that in my world. I’ve always needed a lot of humour and a healthy portion of cynicism to get to the truth of my work.

What initially caused me a certain amount of irritation disappeared after a few days, it was an exciting process. I became a part of it and grew together with this brilliant group of women - with the music, and the interplay of fiction and reality. An unforgettable journey.