A walker of one’s own

It is just one brief action, but it carries incredible metaphorical weight in the film: Mario_n Porten in A walker of one’s own leans forward and emerges from the overall blur: Her face moves into the light, the image grows sharp, she becomes clearly seen. And this is exactly what her film proceeds to do: It sheds the blur and semi-darkness surrounding ME/CFS, the neuro-immunological disorder of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome clearly to light.  

Media coverage of ME/CFS often resorts to the universally paralyzing word of “fate” in its long-winded reports emphasizing dismay. Mario_n Porten counters this static with unexpected and hard edits, employing a disarmingly direct and engaging objectivity that is structured in the irresistible form of a list. Porten loads up her walker with one object after another from everyday ME/CFS life: a sleeping mask, medication, an enema irrigator, a shower stool - as well as place-holders for bureaucratic procedures, in the form of applications for permanent residence, disability pension and a health care permit. 

We gain a graphic understanding of the disease as the walker is loaded up with objects and takes on an increasingly grotesque form. Mario_n Porten shines a metaphorical spotlight into the darkened room where ME/CFS patients tend to spend most of their time. The evolution of her walker sculpture not only provides visibility but also serves as an excellent explanatory model. Porten is transforming her - as she herself says - regained visibility into an activism bent on ripping open the curtains of ignorance darkening our understanding of ME/CFS. (Pia Reiser)

Translation: Eve Heller