»I sail into the darkness«
(Iris Murdoch, British novelist and philosopher, 1997)

Madeleine’s memories are starting to falter. She moves along unfamiliar routes. Faces and places are blurred, the hour of the day has no meaning, and time itself makes leaps: in one minute Madeleine is 50 years old and in another, she is 84. Her reality shifts, at any moment she might find herself opposite her mother, sister or child.

Madeleine loses her orientation – she leaves the world of language, cognition and knowledge. She feels rather than understands, though sometimes feelings remain enigmatic. She loses control over her actions. Some days she can find her clothes on, others not. Still on other days she doesn’t even think to look for them.

A certain sensation of security comes when she is at home. Here, her actions and movements function automatically. Songs of childhood are carefree moments washing over her. For Madeleine, the familiar can seem strange and the strange may be familiar.

»Madeleine« is part of insitu’s Cycle III in which we are presenting four group exhibitions developed as if they were fictional characters, which are based on either a particular psychological profile, personality trait or an existing character found in literature, film or music.

Meet the other characters in this cycle: »Vic«, »Jonny« and »Charles«.