There stands a woman with long tied together hair and she looks directly in your face.
She carries a black turtleneck and has a microphone infront. In the background some few technical facilities
are to be recognized, otherwise monotonous white.
Slowly and constantly she begins to move the head towards the microphone and approaches it with her lips.
She closes her eyes and gropes along with her mouth further forwards, until the entire equipment is enclosed by
her lips. In desireless gesturing and constant movement the protagonist produces in such a way a feedback with
the loudspeakers, which builds a soundscape, which can be brought only gradually in direct connection with the
action on the canvas by the viewer. The mouth of the young woman creates in the process of the action a very
sphericalally, and in addition also unpleasantly crying sound.
Three minutes later the high tone expires slowly, she takes her mouth off the microphone and looks as a last mark
again directly into the camera. Black.

The performance described here is Freya Hattenberger´s contribution to the rampenfiber film competition.This video
is her diploma piece from 2006, when she graduated at the academy of media art in Cologne. Already in the title
- siren - the multilayeredness of the work is reminiscent.
Regarding the Greek mythologic figurs, which allured by their singing sailors and thereupon kill them, Freya Hattenberger
argues with stereotyped presentation of womanhood in a by today´s stage technology modern experienced adaptation.
On a very simply held level it brings together traditional chlichés of feminity, like as the man-devouring monster, as well
as the difficulty for women to perform on the stage and also to be taken serious in connection with technical issues.

Foremost this simplicity constitutes the special quality of her works and creates by the "indecent" action as a crack of
this picture a particular dynamic and meaningfullness. By approaching somewhat clumsy Freya Hattenberger takes the
viewer off their seemingly objective position and puts them in a tight spot by the tension the blow job-like gesture creates.

Freya Hattenberger places herself in the center of her artistic work and is therefore the only viewable thing. In such a way
delivered, she becomes likewise the object of the longing by the desire of looking. This erotic component is deceived by
her indecent behaviour as well as the unpleasant sound.
So the public cannot purge into a voyeuristic backwarding or indulge himselfself to a well-known picture.

As the artist places herself in the picture, she analyzes so also her own role as woman and as artist, where, most notably,
the stereotype of the Muse is strongly connected to females in the context of all fine arts. Even if art seems to have not so
much in common with popculture, by such works self-empowered maneuvering rooms open up and give space for feministic
critic. Alternative approaches on society nevertheless arise by such work in similar way.