La Politesse.

In the form of video performance, Lala Drona recounts her personal experience living abroad.  After moving to Paris, France in 2012, Lala films herself performing in French for the very first time.

She speaks with her face blanketed in flesh-colored mesh; she pulls and pushes through the material, illustrating the tension between the “natural” and “foreign” behaviours she experiences abroad.  The camera frame often segments parts of the face, zooming in on her mouth in order to draw focus to her words.  The video successfully transmits an oppressive ambience, the pressures of living up to societal norms when immersing yourself into a new culture.

Based on a Fact

Damian Fuller, Minimalism and Manners Blog