A Peaceful Rebellion - Sara is in Love with…

Rebellion is on my mind while I dance in a red sea. Rebellion is an aggressive word, but I tell you one thing: I am rebellion, head to toe, but a different kind than you might imagine. Maybe the Troyan horse of rebellion.

If you browse through history, one thing gets clear: rebellion was often the start of something new that was necessary and good. Rebellion has a price, and often it brings a trail of destruction, riots or even blood. Rebels are put in jail, they are the heroes of rock hymns and movies, and they polarise. Are they villains or heroes or even both at the same time?

Youth is often closely connected to rebellion, seeing the world with different eyes, standing up against the system, and demanding change. Like David screaming at Goliath, “I don’t want to live in the world you imagined no more; it’s a poisoned world, I want to create my own world”.

This year, the place where this shoot took place has seen rebellion too. The red square in Saint Gall, designed by world-famous artist Pipilotti Rist became the centre of youth riots. They were protesting against the governments’ corona measures. So loud and angry were their shouts, expressing feelings of being betrayed and bored, demanding their freedom and right to party.

I still wonder why they chose the red square as the centre of their riots. Is there a connection to red being the most aggressive colour? Did they act like bulls charging when the matador waves his small red cape? I can’t say. Maybe the question would follow if we believe in random occurrences or see connections and patterns everywhere. But we don’t go down that road now since that would be a very long way. We can do that another time happily. So let’s linger with rebellion instead.

Why do I see myself as rebellion? Well, I love to question things and see everything from different perspectives. I go my own path, and how I live and look seems to offend some people. I don’t understand why: Does it hurt them? Does it affect their life in a bad way? No! I look like a walking rainbow that escaped a circus, and I tell you, it’s a life worth living! Maybe my way of rebellion is to shake that bubble that is their life just for a second.

I don’t need to put graffitis on buildings, smash shop windows or shout paroles. I detest destruction and prefer change through growth. If I don’t like my garden, I don’t burn it down, but I start to plant different flowers. A peaceful rebellion might be the most successful anyway: Aggression and violence are usually answered with more aggression and violence. But, at the same time, I might sneak in like a Troyan horse and leave you with a tiny rebellious seed planted in your mind. It might or not grow. And maybe one day, a red flower might start to blossom where it hasn’t been before.