The Artist Explains: LIJO - 'Elasticity'
LIJO talks to us about her wacky visuals for eccentric art rock single, ‘Elasticity’ which promotes the idea of simply being ourselves.
Where was the video for ‘Elasticity' filmed?
This time, it was filmed in and around London during my tour in the UK. It was special in many ways: we shot in between the shows of my first international tour ever, in such a famous city… but what I probably loved most was working with Robin (Hugers, No Batman) who is one of my oldest friends. She moved to London a while back and is a working as a filmmaker on beautiful documentaries. We’ve known each other for over 15 years and its quite beautiful to discover and build a new connection based on a mutual love for art. Brainstorming about the video with her in London was among the happiest moments that week!
How does the video connect with the song and could you tell us about the ideas/ themes/ imagery used?
As the second episode of the ‘My Inner Parts’ two-part, it has a clear connection to ‘Sometimes I Want Rain’. The image of you, living up to expectations, trying to fit in (or not) are important themes. We captured that in different settings. We chose to use an urban setting for the side of me that doesn’t care what she’s supposed to do. She just claims her own space. Then there’s the forest setting, which has a feverish feel to it, where I’m in the role of the girl who tries to capture a silvery ball that keeps getting away. This visualizes the attempt to live up to unrealistic expectations, whether they are from yourself or from the outside world. This is my favourite scene, because it’s so trippy. Being pushed and pulled from many sides is a visual translation of these expectations as well. And then the mannequins - to me, they are blind followers who just emotionlessly sing along with the crowd.
Do you have any behind the scenes stories you could share with us?
God, many. There was a circus in the field next to the forest the day we filmed there, for example, so even though I looked like Alice in Wonderland on LSD I didn’t really stand out. We made the wig of elastic bands because somehow, wigs became a thing - we started out using one, and then we decided to use one in every setting. I had a huge bag of bands sitting in my room for a year after an Utrecht art student donated them, and I just picked them up thinking at some point they could fit to this song. When I drove to England, I just tossed the bag in the car and I’m glad I did. We made the wig taping every individual band to a shower cap - but we couldn’t find a regular cap so we had to buy a duck-shaped one and then cut of the beak, which was quite a sad sight.
Is there a message the video is trying to convey?
As corny as it sounds - be yourself! People, society, you yourself; so many elements in life push and pull you and make you lose your balance, but it is impossible to make everybody happy, to succeed in every aspect, to be one hundred percent, in everything, all the time. In the end of the video, the pink-haired girl gets to the ball but decides to turn away from it again to find her own way. Be that girl.
Interview feature by Karla Harris