Location; Charim Galerie, Vienna - 2002
Ideal Individual starts with an advertisement placed in several newspapers, in this case, Der Standard in Vienna. In the advertisement “L.A. Raeven Analyse & Research Service” is looking for “Ideal Individuals” to participate in their investigation into "new future styles, changes in society, current trends in fashion and advertising." The requirements for participation are strictly formulated in a physical profile, divided into “required” and “beneficial.” What is not stated in the advertisement is that the profile was based on the measurements of a person with tripleX syndrome, and are abstractions of measurements and behavior of the the artists L.A.Raeven.
The video installation Ideal Individual is a documentation of the casting performance in Vienna of the girls who applied to the ad. Stripped to their underwear, the girls’ body fat is measured by a skin-fold meter; because nobody fit the requirements of the ad, all the girls end up in the room for those rejected.
This installation is made possible by the Mondriaan Fonds