#MUTTIwobistdu installation 
@ JEP Paris 2022

 

MUTTI wo bist du? is a layered multi-crossover installation in which van Lith
connects her research into homelessness to the personal loss of
 her mother. The title therefore refers on the one hand to her mother,
but also to the nickname of Angela Merkel, the former chancellor
of Germany and the figurehead for refugee shelter.
Although it is not customary in our European culture to call a woman
other than your mother that way, this is seen as respectful in other cultures.
The disturbing images that the artist links to the shelter of refugees and
their search for a home are, as we know from her, extremely raw.
All clichés are shown as a gaping open wound. One of the highlights is a
five-meter-high '' life- pole'' that is made of collected material from the homeless and there hidingplaces. 
 Van Lith refers to the old cultures and religions she admires where such a pole can be seen as a sanctuary.

 Cardboard, pieces of newspaper, wool, rope, photos, drawings,
van Lith did two years of research and obtained the materials of the homeless.
She immersed herself in their world and connected her own grief to it.
That the connection has succeeded is evident from the understanding
and mutual respect between the artist and the homeless.
It is unimaginably clever how pure the matter has been used
and the pitfall for easy sentiment has been combated.  With her language
skills and audio performance you step into the minds of people from different
cultures, with compulsive thoughts and especially keeping self-reliance proud.
The audio installation works almost religiously and transcendingly.
You feel the powerlessness, see the meagre sleep and still feel a true security.
A mother's heart that is dying a last tear dripping because she leaves her family
 turns red. Thanks to her new literary tour de force ''Why I drip tears''
( Waarom ik tranen druip ) we can understand that.