Geodynamic Slumbers (2021)
(exhibition / interractive installation)

Six couples were asked to leave their beds undone in the morning she visited them right after they got up. Elisabeth took photographs of the beds, and interviewed the couple – a process that took about two months to complete.

Each couple were asked about what they got up to the night before in bed, before falling asleep, and then in the morning – from the moment they opened their eyes “until the moment their feet kissed the floor”.

“We talked about sleepless nights, being sick in bed, heavy hearts that are breaking but also trying to love again, waking up in togetherness, sex, books that were read, picking sides, sweet caresses and the things that happens in the intimacy of sharing a bed with somebody.”

After Elisabeth spoke to each of the couples, she digitally manipulated the photographs to incorporate the transcribed interview into each picture.

The words of each couple thus appear in the form of bright red text in the “creeks” of each bed. The images were then printed on aluminium sheets.

When visitors enter the gallery, they encountered a scene that looked like a bedroom – including an actual bed in the middle of the room. They were invited to lie on the bed so they, too, can leave traces of their physical movements in the sheets.

At the end of the night, Elisabeth took a picture of the bed to reflect the presence of everyone who came to the exhibition.

©mike mather