The Artist Explains: C'est Karma - 'Girls'

Luxembourg artist C’est Karma speaks to us about her powerful single and video ‘Girls’ which was released in celebration of International Women’s Day and celebrates the diversity of the female figure.

Where was the video for ‘Girls’ filmed?
We filmed most of the video at my place although the scenes with the blue background were shot in a film studio we hired. When we shot at my place we had to move all the furniture to make the flower wall and the equipment in the living room. It was also very important to us to create an environment where the 20 women we had coming in would feel the most comfortable possible. So we turned my room into the changing room and the kitchen was used as a cozy hangout and catering room (with way too much food), where the girls and women could talk to each other and share their experiences.

How does the video connect with the song?
In the video we show the unfiltered vulnerabilty and beauty of the women by showcasing their bare skin. We didn't want to have any fabric on the video so the women had to get naked on camera. This way we managed to show the beauty of bodies in all shapes. The pressure that is put on women is one of the main themes of the song and so by filming the women this way we tried to show the purity that women often hide. A lot of the women chose to show parts of their body they would not usually show because they felt that these were seen as bad-looking. To me the video complements the song, in the way that it visualises what the lyrics already convey in a poetic way.

Do you have any behind the scenes stories you could share with us?
The whole shooting experience was very special to me. I felt super thankful for all the women that dared to show their bare skin in front of a camera. Before the shooting I was very worried that the women who came in would not feel comfortable that I cooked so much food, that if three times as many women would have come in and we still had leftovers. Because I didn't want to have too much food left, I had everyone who had the time, stay a little longer to have some food. To me these were the nicest moments of the entire shootings because here the women came together and the one who had already shot talked to the ones waiting for their turn. It was very nice to see the connection between these women who bonded over the idea of body positivity.

Can you tell us about the ideas/themes/imagery used?
The flowers, that the women posed in front of, resonate with the "Ode to Frida Kahlo" that is mentioned in the first line of the song. They also stand for nature and the beauty in nature. We saw the idea of nature synonymously to the female body that is not showed naturally often enough but is also a beautiful creation of nature. Initially we wanted to animate dots for the shots that are now blue to reflect the "Ode to Yayoi Kusama" but at the end we chose to stick to the simplicity of the blue wall. So we did not forget about her it was just visually more pleasing without the dots.

Is there a message the video is trying to convey?
The main message is that we have to stop putting pressure on women and give them the freedom to embrace their bodies. Women are constantly judged for how they look and most of us grow up with an image of an idealised body shape that blinds us from celebrating diversity, and it's time to change this.

Interview by Karla Harris