Julia Scher &
Julia Scher’s Lip Sync series, which had its beginnings at the end of the 1980s, is a central element of her artistic work. This work series goes well beyond a playful involvement with pop culture and illuminates profound themes like surveillance, control and the construction of identity. At the heart of Lip Sync is the imitation of songs, on which Scher consciously works imperfectly: the movements of her lips do not always exactly match with the lyrics, the emphasis often seems out of place. This intentional disparity addresses the fragility of authenticity and emphasises how easily reality can be staged. A central theme in Scher’s work is the invisibility of surveillance, which, however, intervenes deeply into the behaviour of people. The Lip Sync series makes this dynamic tangible by revealing the act of imitation and of self-representation as performative. The conscious ›being wrong‹ refers to the artificiality of any self-enactment—a parallel with present-day selfie culture, in which people curate and filter their digital selves to outwardly convey a particular image. Scher also refers to narrative control mechanisms in the choice of her songs. In that she lip-syncs texts by others, she dispenses with her own voice and plays with the feeling of speechlessness. This renunciation is at the same time a subtle form of resistance: the artist refuses to completely immerse herself in the prescribed narratives. The series has continued to develop over the years. While earlier works were dynamic and heavy on dance, the newer versions now seem quieter. However, the basic motive remains: the wish for transformation and the striving to overcome boundaries—whether physical or metaphorical. (Theresa Samimizad)
