"We all have evil within us. Even small children are evil towards each other," Danish-Norwegian artist Nina Maria Kleivan tells Haaretz as she explains why she chose to dress up her baby daughter as the most evil historical figures of the 20th century.
"Even my daughter could end up ruling Denmark with an iron fist. The possibility is still there. You never know."
In the controversial photo-series "Potency," Kleivan's daughter Faustina, then a few months old, depicts such infamous personalities as Joseph Stalin, Benito Mussolini, Saddam Hussein, Ayatollah Khomeini, Chairman Mao, Idi Amin, Augusto Pinochet, Slobodan Milosevic, and Adolf Hitler. The aim is to illustrate just one thing: We all begin life the same. We all have every opportunity ahead of us. To do good, or inexplicable evil.
Well I think it’s disgraceful. And my dog, Lavrenty, agrees.
The Mussolini one’s best, in a sort of united fascists of Benetton way. Milosevic is just crap – the kiddie’s just dressed in an all purpose baby gangster suit. Come to think of it, she looks remarkably like Churchill. It’s like some effigy maker in rural Pakistan trying to busk a model of the Danish Prime Minister for burning by an angry mob at immediate notice.
They were all men.
Posted by: Fellow Traveller | March 19, 2010 at 12:09 AM