tame (t m) [Middle English, from Old English tam]* *The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

The work of Greek artist Fotini Gouseti questions the limitations and boundaries that exist within society. She starts with the belief that what is considered beautiful, right or moral is determined by transitional conditions such as time and space. Today's standards were perceived differently 50 years ago and they will be redefined in the future. In a similar sense what is acceptable here may be ill founded in another place on the globe. Her work emphasizes and comments on the fear of the uncertain, the undefined, which gives birth and sustains the dominant rules. Focusing on this fear is an element of major importance in Gouseti's practice because in her view fear leads to constructed boundaries, identities, normalities and roles. As a means of 'taming' the fear Gouseti follows a meticulous time engagement scheme. Repetition, obsession, compulsion and devotion are recurring elements in her practice, and manifest themselves in both form and content. She often refers to genitalia sketching the familiarity of intimacy and yet alienating this familiarity through repetitive recording of this part of the body as an autonomous existence. Through its compulsive nature her process suggests a manifestation of proof: attempting to change the way of perceiving the world through first changing the self. As Gouseti puts it, the self becomes a shaman of one's own self. "Hermaphrodite", a work presented earlier this year in the exhibition "Attraction of the Opposites" (Cucosa, Rotterdam) illustrates Gouseti's painstaking process. The image, depicting the artist as a hermaphrodite probing her penis, is broken down to 128 frames. Each frame although pertinent to the rest can also stand on its own. Gouseti chose in this case to work with the medium of woodcut because it offers a definitive result just like a stamp. The medium therefor becomes a statement about the difficulty to always comply with what is considered as the 'right thing'. Following this line of thought Gouseti will realize the installation entitled "Tām", to be presented in the gallery JOEY RAMONE. Here Gouseti plays with the notion of 'tame' following a number of techniques, in which repetition and obsession become 
apparent. With some seven hundred drawings of genitals dated from 2004 to present, drawings on millimeter paper and a nearly 3 meters 'calendar' scarf with the humorous title "The Nemea lion skin" Gouseti invites the audience to search for meaning and take position. Who exactly or what is to be 'tamed' we will yet have to experience in the exhibition. About the artist Fotini Gouseti (Greece, 1974) who holds a degree in Painting and a degree in Print- making from Athens School of Fine Arts, attended studies of Social Anthropology in Panteion University of Athens and is currently involved in the Masters Course of Dutch Art Institute in Arnhem, the Netherlands. She lives and works in Rotterdam.

About the gallery JOEY RAMONE, the newest gallery of Rotterdam, has opened its doors in a central location on the 4th of February 2012. Hans Bakker & Kiki Petratou are the owners of this new gallery. They are really proud of their space and they find it very important at times like these to be able to contribute in the promotion of contemporary art. With 7 exhibitions per year focusing mainly on installation and video art JOEY RAMONE aims to be an international platform for young and emerging talent.

 www.fotinigouseti.com