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On Femaleness, Selfhood, and Reflection
In this performance collaboration, Elena Katsulis and Rin wear mirrors strapped to their backs with rope, their arms extended outward in a cruciform posture. Pressed against the windows of a Chicago transit station—a liminal space where people are in constant motion—their faces are visible on one side, while the mirrors reflect passersby on the other. The words: “You are not yourself,” are written across the mirrors, inspired by Barbara Kruger’s critique of commodification and imposed identities within capitalist society.
This work interrogates the construction of selfhood, particularly the ways female identities are shaped by societal expectations and consumer culture. It explores the act of presenting an image—cultivating and performing a self for the outside world—while simultaneously grappling with the internal gaze and the realization that this gaze may not be one’s own but shaped by external forces.
The weight of the mirrors, both literal and symbolic, reflects the burden of these constructed identities. As commuters transition through the space, they are confronted with the performers’ faces pressed against the glass or their own reflections in the mirrors, creating a moment of interruption in the act of passing through. This dual engagement provokes questions about self-perception and the imposed nature of identity in a world shaped by external expectations.
