from shameless objectification to objectification - in the act of photographing, observing, judging. to realisation, waking up, being thrown back on oneself - manifested in acrylic. in the conflict between self-objectification and objectification by others, self-optimisation and objectification by others. accusation and shame.
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from a frog's-eye view, the photographer points his lens at his subject. legs pass by, the flash hits the air. bikinis in yellow, pink, white flit by, the lens focuses. the camera unabashedly draws the skin of the identity-less women closer to its holder. no distance. they have no faces, these young women of mis-selection, the stage of the scene. they are mere, young, awkward, exposed bodies. unaware of themselves and the situation they have placed themselves in. Exploited by violent gazes, captured in images that force recipients to be part of male gaze themselves. no chance to change perspective or - out of shame or disgust - to remove themselves. on the contrary, the quality of the work forces us to look at it on many levels and to enjoy it.
male gaze - by andre germar
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in contrast to the naked bodies: accusing faces on bodies with blemishes, dents, stripes and wrinkles. uneven. disintegrated and questioned.
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what being looked at does to the individual, what sexist, social imprisonment in roles does to the body and soul, manifests itself in acrylic, making the recipient responsible for taking a stand - in front of the accusing gaze, in front of themselves. in a strangely fairytale-like way, the works do not show any expected bodies or faces or places, instead they are isolated, distorted beings. shy, frightened, full of self-doubt, they accuse and at the same time tell of the weakened and hopeful letting go of having to be beautiful, of wanting to be beautiful. looking at this work creates a tossing back and forth between judgement and consolation, accusation and forgiveness, of the other, of the self. deeply intimate, the work tells of a sick society.
du sollst schön sein – von jessika dirks
​with SCHAM[LOS] andre germar and jessika dirk's work force the recipients into the roles of the objectifiers - the others and themselves. the dialectic of opposing perspectives on the female body and the self forces a discourse on the objectification of women and the abuse of power over their physicality by ‘the man’, by ‘the woman’, by themselves, by our society - as well as the tentative and demanding question of hope for improvement.