"1, 2, 3, 4..." (National Gymnastics)

2019 Short film

When I was in elementary school I had to memorize the “National Gymnastics”. Every Monday I should practice this exercise with all the other students together on the playground. It was my first memory of how the nation can control the individual body. Even though I didn’t do the gymnastics for 10 years my body still remembers the movements very precisely. Because of that I could do it even now if I would hear the music. Now nobody controls me. But I am still afraid that I could make some mistakes during the exercise.

This exercise is a symbol of the “internalized surveillance” which was carried out by the nation. It is still in my body, even though the dictatorial pressure of the nation doesn’t exist anymore. The individual body is no longer under control by the nation or the society but myself that internalized the power of the nation long ago.