Cold mid June morning. Hysteria of a flood. Neighbors, strangers, the landlord. Pipes, fixed up in the end. Coffee and cigarettes. By noon I am going to pick up a friend from the tube station. Thanks god I have time to think about what should I wear… the fastest idea: winter jacket. On the way back from the tube station me and my friend entering a charity shop. I am spotting 2 translucent orange and white glasses. 75 pence. My friend, a nice purse. I approach to the case and I start a conversation with the salesman, an old gay in his ‘70es. Hello there, I would like to pay for this 2 glasses and, my friend (and I am spotting to a girl) will pay for the purse. Salesman: Wow, you have a friend. And she is your friend. Glossy Shine: Everybody should have friends. Salesman: Yes, everybody have friends. Where are you from? Glossy Shine: I am from Romania. Salesman: Wow, you are from Romania! I have a dog from Romania. Glossy Shine: How did you get it? Salesman: A rescued dog. My friend approaches and joins the conversation. Laura : I don’t really understand how did you manage to bring the dog! Salesman: through the English and Hollander Association of Rescued Dogs. I told you, LONDON, HOLLAND, ROMANIA. And it is a very nice dog, very silent and lazy. I love him….. Glossy Shine: That’s an interesting story! Thank you for sharing to us! Good bye! And we are again on the street and we start laughing.
The theme of this project it’s about exile. First, Glossy Shine is exiled into life (by birth), second exiled from the family because she is not able to perform her function there, as a wife and mother, even grandmother eventually and, then she exiles herself into another country in order to find the best place for her and, now an alien among her so-called kin.
In all her life, she just reached the age of 33 years old, Glossy Shine tried a feeling of boredom. As if all life’s joys and adventures aren’t for her. Anything she tries to do, anything she’s doing doesn’t bring into her life nor even a glimpse of shine.
She is a very nice looking young lady and she doesn’t shows her age. Someone could give her no more than 25 years old. But she’s afraid of her passing beauty, of her passing life because she didn’t manage to find out yet what’s that thing which could bring her the joy of life which she’s notice everywhere around but not in her life.
Her very best friend and confessors are 4 dolls. Not all of them are from the childhood. Maybe one let’s say. One of them is made by herself after an old primitive way of making dolls. And she gave them names too: Hope, Trust, Happiness and, Love. To them she’s telling her stories and her life.
One evening when she comes back from work and starts telling in a rush her last frugal love affair with her boss, her parents burst into the room in a desperate shout beating her up about what’s she’s intending to do with her life.
Parents:
Glossy, for the god sake what the hell do you want to do with your life? We are ashamed by your attitude and behavior!
Father:
Listen, you’re not a child any more, nor a teenager… Come on, it’s time to live your life properly!
Glossy Shine:
But, hey, mom, dad, I have a job, I have a boyfriend what else should I need for the moment?! I definitely don’t need a car and one day this house will be mine…
Mother:
Stop talking like that, it’s time to get marry and to be a good wife and mother. It’s enough, come on!
Glossy Shine:
Please, listen to me, I really don’t want to do this mom. Not now, maybe next year. I am very fine and even I am a bit confused I really don’t think that marriage could be the right step in my life.
Parents:
Well, miss, if this is what you really want to do then, get out from our house, get out from our life.
Glossy Shine:
But, Mom, Dad why are you so angry? Why are you throwing me away like a garbage? Did I say or did I really made something so awful?
Mother:
No, but you don’t want to listen to us and in the end, let me ask you something: Do you need a psychologist?
Glossy Shine:
What for?
Mother
Do not interrupt me! Can you explain to us what is about all these freak conversations with the dolls?
Glossy Shine:
I can’t believe this. Are you listening at my door? Are you dare to break my intimacy? Fuck off, if I am such a burden for you I will leave from here very soon. Trust me! And now, get out of my room!
Mother:
It is not your room any more!
Glossy Shine:
Get out now I said!!!
After a while we find Glossy Shine installing her belongings in a very small but cozy attic with wooden balks and a big semicircle window.She takes out from the suitcase her dolls and put them on the sill while she is starting to tell them another recent story.
She doesn’t seem concerned by her parents banishment. She’s rather concerned by her new job.
Glossy Shine:
Hope, why all people I know are acting in the same way? Why after a few days of well behavior and beautiful lies they start to behave very rude, and they are thinking that they are the masters of the the world? God himself? Even I am thinking of Tom, that millionaire from Bloom’s Bridge Cartel or, of Anthony that aristocrat who pretends to come from Medici, even they are rich or poor they have so many things in common – stupidity, indolence, aggresiveness , greed. Oh, or even worse… Do you remember Trust, about that charismatic young writer? Do you remember how awful he was?! Well girls, never mind it seem that this is a never endless story… Lucky me! I have a brilliant idea you’ll see!
She decides to take as a volunteer a part-time job with an charitable association for old and disabled people.
Pretty much soon she discovers that the old and disabled people are worse than anybody else and they actually don’t need any help.
She’s complaining again to her dolls.
Glossy Shine:
Love, tell me, what’s wrong with these humans? Did they lost completely their sense and sensibility, their love for life and beauty, their happiness? Can you imagine that today I was on the point to be poisoned by an old amputee woman? In her rush to hide the bottle of poison that one fallen down the floor and broken into pieces. When I entered the room the crazy lady with a very kindly voice offered me the poisoned glass of water. I took the glass and I looked to the floor. The label of the broken bottle made me to look first what is about and then… to throw away the glass…
What can I say, what can I do more in here… I am completely done with this life. It better to start to travel abroad as soon as possible and I am sure that the smile will come back on my face one day. For sure that somewhere on this planet there are some good places for me. I don’t, want to give up for the moment. Isn’t it Hope?
And, one morning on a winter time, when the sun is rising we see Glossy Shine walking with a suitcase near Big Ben. She stops in front of a phone boot takes out from her purse a notebook and is looking for a number. Then she enters the phone boot and makes a call.
Glossy Shine:
Good morning, I’m Glossy… Yes, I am near Big Ben as we spoke on the phone yesterday. Ten minutes later an asian woman approaches Glossy and they are shaking the hands.
In a very short time Glossy Shine finds a job as a secretary and in order to pay her rent and her bills she takes also a part-time job as a dancer/entertainer in stylish club. It seems that everything’s perfect for this time. Nothing but a normal life.
One afternoon she enters very sad and ravaged in her flat and a couple of minutes she doesn’t make anything but pointing an imaginary point. Lots of tears running down her face. Finally she points the dolls on a small table. She grabs the dolls throws them on the floor. She’s looking for something, whispering with a rusty voice:
Glossy Shine:
Why? Why the same shit everywhere? Why? What have I done? Why people don’t let me to live my own life? Why they are so envy and selfish. I don’t like your world, your attitude… are you really humans?
She finds what she is looking for - the suitcase. Takes the dolls from the floor, some colorful wigs from a shelve and some skyscraper shoes throws them in the suitcase and rushes out the flat.
We see her on Westminster Bridge throwing away into the Thames her suitcase and how she disappears into the mob.
The suitcase burst open on the water surface and the dolls and the wigs are floating down the river.
A child from a small boat looks very happy at the floating dolls. He shouts to his mother to catch the dolls for him.
late in the summer night, glossy shine is drinking a glass of wine and she's watching the hanging moon over the sleepy city. 'There was a time when i had so many things to say. So many and so important things. About life, about love, about people, about nature, about everything. Now, i don't have anything to say. I am squeezing my brain, i am looking around but not a single word comes in my mind. It's all silence. There's everything but no words - feelings, images, happenings. There is a very strange feeling... as if a part of my brain has stopped to work properly. I am still able to feel sensations of cold, warmth, i can feel the wind blowing and the energy which comes out from every person or thing. But i am not able to talk about them. I am doubting of everything as if my perception is cheated all the time. As soon as i have an idea about something suddenly the sense of certainty disappears. There are so many things which i could talk about but when the moment of pronunciation comes I keep silence. I find each word so pointless and insignificant. I am hopelessly trying to hitch on something to talk about... even on that rising bit of moon... even on this glass of wine... even on that crickets' chirp... but the words are vanishing between the images and pronunciations. Tired of all these things i say to myself: come on, go to sleep, tomorrow is another day and it will be perfect. you will see, something good will happen tomorrow and you'll be able to speak again about everything you want.... But the days are passing, even the months and then, the years... the same awful impossibility of speaking persists.
