Jealous of the Forest

Video, color, stereo
6.40min

Larisa Crunţeanu ‘s video work Jealous of the Forest (2019) depicts a moment in the everyday life of a single man, a professional folk musician, in rural Romania. As he walks through the village and his expansive garden with an archaic device, his gaze is constantly directed at two mobile phones – also a reference to the geographies of Europe that have been morphed and expanded by communication technology. At the end of his walk, he suddenly performs the song Bine-i codrule de tine (Jealous of the Forest) , a folk song from the 19th century. It sings of the supposed imperturbability of the forest, which is superior to painful, unrequited feelings (of love). The desire to be as “unfeeling as the forest” is linked to the massive, economically driven emigration of women from rural areas, particularly after the eastern enlargement. In Jealous of the Forest, the present of the EU and cultural heritage combine to create constructions of masculinity that are as precarious as they are touching. (Ulrike Gerhardt, excerpt from curatorial text for New East Poetistas exhibition)

 

Featuring: Traian Frâncu
Live sound recording: Laurențiu Coțac
Camera & edit: Larisa Crunțeanu
Realized with the support of Meta Foundation, Romania.

Part of New East Poetistas