FREEDOM FIGHTERS & DICTATORS

As of today it is save to say that Colonel Gaddafi is no longer dictator of Lybia.

In a way he will be missed. In modern history Gaddafi was the political leader that came closest to being a work of art.

Not only were Gaddafi's extravagantly dressed performances and speeches a memorable happening, also his personal bodyguards - the Revolutionary Nuns - were proof of great aesthetical freedom.

Best remembered might be his silent protest during his visit to Berlusconi's Italy; the first official visit since the colonisation of Lybia by Italy (1911-1940's).
Pinned to the dictators chest was a photo of Libyan guerrilla leader and freedom fighter Omar al Mukhtar, arrested by Italian colonial troops in 1931.
Clearly Berlusconi was more impressed by the bodyguards.

Filmmaker Rania Ajami made a movie about these modern Amazon Warriors: see trailer.


Colonel Gaddafi visits President Berlusconi in 2009

Omar al Mukhtar

Revolutionary Nuns

Killer Virgins

Impressed

ESCAPE ARTIST

Where performance art, taking a chance and the urge for freedom meet: THE ESCAPOLOGIST.

Escape artists have been around for centuries. Of course it is Harry Houdini who made the escape act a recognised entertainment at the end of the 19th century. Nevertheless it was Norman Murray Walters, a contemporary of Houdini, who coined the phrase 'escapology' for his skills.

Sculptor Silvia B. creates wonderfully strange animal-like child creatures who wouldn't misfit the oldtime freak circus, especially when they are posed as contortionists or escape artists.
The ironical fate of 'Numero Noir' is now being transferred to the glass showcase of the art gallery. No escape there ...


Silvia B., 'Numero Noir' (2010) (collection Museum Beelden Aan Zee)