I was well beyond fifty when, for the first time, I felt the need to make my own body the content of my work. There was a desire to explore the irreversible changes of an aging body, the greying tufts of hair, age spots and scars, the increasing laxity of wrinkling skin. The camera is honest, cathartic and liberating, triggering a process of self-approach. I sculpted my body, tried different poses and light settings. Since the result was never directly visible to me through the viewfinder, there was always a moment of surprise. In a strangely distanced way, I was fascinated by the great variety of textures formed by the skin, the patterns of light and shadow forming through folds and shapes, it seemed I was not a reflection of myself, but a kind of found landscape.
"Your Body is a Battleground" - a phrase that Barbara Kruger placed on one of her iconic works - got stuck in my head. Although meant in a completely different, feminist context, this fight will take place on many levels. On the other hand, I think that the body can be the place where we can finally make peace with ourselves.
Irreversible #54: Pigment print on rice paper, 100 x 150 cm
Exhibition View: Forum Stadtpark, Graz
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Irreversible #53
Exhibition View: Forum Stadtpark, Graz