Exhibition overview:

The exhibition Glamorous Impostors considers the status and experience of women in situations of migration and times of transition and uncertainty—circumstances in which women use their identity as material to shape and change their appearance in the world. Through a combination of mediums—sculpture, video art, archival photography, and performance—Fischer creates a space with an array of symbols such as a woman galloping on a horse, a safety pin, red curtains, and sparkling dresses. The images attempt to create a syntax ranging from Hollywood glamour to the elusive sense of a shattered dream. Within this syntax are the life stories Fischer has gathered from women of different origins, ages, and places around the world. The stories are passed on as “helpful hints” in the form of videos featuring short, easy-to-follow tips. These suggestions enable any woman in a transitional situation to deal with the dangers of the road and a world largely subject to the masculine gaze. The feminine wisdom outlining an independent and powerful narrative replaces that of the weak/powerless refugee. At the heart of the ethos, Fischer weaves together is the semi-fictional and semi-real character of Fortuna, singing the exhibition’s soundtrack in an abandoned theater hall: “Life is a show, come to the show my darling/Get up, dance today, dance on the bench my darling.”