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Thu, Mar 28, 2024

Duration video: 4 min.

In Code Blue 19, the artist takes you into a psychedelic depiction of anger, frustration, sadness and emotional feelings. "Code blue” is a hospital emergency code used to indicate a patient requiring resuscitation or in need of immediate medical attention, most often as the result of a respiratory arrest or cardiac arrest. The artist uses this term in relation to the number 19 referring to covid-19, which emerged in 2019 and manifested itself in a pandemic.

In the video, the artist makes direct comparisons with a sad clown and uses it as a symbol by adopting clownish poses The mouth mask made from shaving soap symbolizes a cleaning process to protect against the virus. The video perfumance evolves from a static and minimal movement to a more intense and aggressive washing of the hands and head. The intermediate shots of the scenes with sunglasses give the perfumance an extra layer, whereby the intended anonymity is interrupted with the expression of one's own personality. At some point we hear the artist sniffing the air clearly. This can be seen as a reference to being able to smell again or to have the desire to smell again. The video perfumance ends with an open question mark where the artist covers with soap disappears from the screen.

Olfactory artist Peter de Cupere, always uses the term perfumance for all his performances in which a reference is made to the sense of smell.