THOSE NIGHTS THAT GROW LONGER
Noemi Castella
Graduation Project 2021

In the Lötschental Valley, in the Canton of Valais, there is a tradition whereby every year men dress up in furry costumes with grimacing masks to frighten those who would have the misfortune to cross their path. This is the tradition of the Tschäggättä. Before the 1960s, single men wore this costume to go in search of a young woman. They would enter in their houses, grab a victim and cover her face with soot. These simulations of violent behaviors have been transmitted for generations under the guise of tradition.

Today even though they are allowed to participate to this celebration, women usually don’t. Noemi Castella tried to understand why, and she imagined that it’s because the traditional costume is designed for a male body and they might not want to wear a costume that represents an assailant for them. In answer to that her idea was to suggest a new interpretation of the costume, designed for the female body, as a tool of empowerment.

Using different techniques, Noemi created new monsters and wrote a new mythology for a tradition that tells the story of these women who took the power back after being victims for years. Creating a new female monster means shaking up the tradition, reversing the gender roles. The parade of these monsters is a testimony of emancipation.

It is also an act of taking back space in their environment, the public space and their village where it was dangerous to go out at night, which is still an actual problem. It’s a folkloric intervention to create a space in Swiss folklore for putting women’s work and crafts under the spotlight.This appropriation tries to make the tradition evolve towards a more inclusive festival that is not disparaging to anyone and an attempt to put women and men on an equal footing for the duration of a Carnival parade.

MATERIALS:
Animation film length:
8’30’’

Performance length:
~10’

Performance:
Mixed media, soundtrack (7’02’’) 

Costume materials:
Tights, wool, foam

Mask materials:
Tights, wool, foam, paper, plaster

Installation:
Natural wood, 3 led lights, thread, nails

Shrunken heads material:
Paper, paint, wool

Tutor: Noam Toran

PHOTOGRAPHY:
© HEAD - Genève, Baptiste Coulon / © Noemi Castella

IG: @noecastel

THANKS:
Noam Toran, Alexandra Midal, Arno Mathies, El Ultimo Grito, Joseph Popper, Margaux Janin, Emma Pflieger, Dominic Robson, Oscar Lhermitte, Fanny Vaucher, Adéla Liškovà, Julie Schultz, Joanne Joho, Jasmin Maissen, Maeva Bosko, Lou Cohen, Inès Berdugo, Théo Remlinger, Emma Colella, Lauryne Gaillard, Anaïs Dermont, Marie Colella, Lucille Jacquat, Julia Pelichet, David Sentkar, Charles-André Castella, Clément Castella, Nicole Mayor, Sarah Monro, David Monro, Luke Monro, Robin Colella, Toni Texeira, Hsuan Lee, Hyojeong Lee, Tejal Gala, Thomas Lopes