Mz. Frankenstein

Description:

Tanya Mars’s performance Mz. Frankenstein explored the intersections of the body, science, and ethics. The work took the form of a demonstration of the Relax-a-cizer—an electric weight-loss machine manufactured in the United States during the 1950s and marketed to women for home use. 

Over the course of the twenty-minute performance, Mars followed the machine’s instructions, read live by Margaret Dragu. Behind Mars, projected images of art historical works overlaid with surgical markings and cosmetic warning texts underscored the beauty industry’s promotion of a singular ideal of female perfection. 

As the performance progressed, Mars became increasingly bound, twisted, and contorted by the apparatus, a condition that operated as a metaphor for the artist’s confinement within idealized societal expectations of the female body. When the machine was finally activated, it predictably short-circuited, appearing to electrocute Mars—evoking the electric current that animates the Bride of Frankenstein. 

Through humour and absurdity, Mz. Frankenstein critiqued the extreme treatments women are encouraged to undergo to eliminate perceived bodily imperfections—ultimately prompting viewers to question how far they themselves might go to conform.

Following the live performance, Mars produced a single-channel video work for Mz. Frankenstein. 

Video documentation is available upon request.