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Ladyshave Home Edition - Full Artist Information (EN) |
 2010
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Associated projects: Ladyshave Home Edition
Madeleine Berkhemer is a Rotterdam artist who has shown extensively in the Netherlands, Switzerland and Scandanavia. She works in a broad range of tropes and media, including sculpture, installation, performance, photography and collage. Female identity and female sexuality – often her own- is at the centre of most of Madeleine’s work, whether represented very graphically through performative self-portraiture that is incorporated into the work or through the meanings of the materials she uses; lingerie, fetishised shoes and products that speak of a woman’s body. She often manages to achieve an aggressive and confrontative quality in the work, a quality that remains even in works where she has removed herself or overt graphic imagery altogether; rage, desire and sexual frenzy expertly conveyed through form, tension, material and colour. Martin C. de Waal is an Amsterdam-based artist whose work crosses disciplines, working in design, fashion and the visual art world. Digitally altered photography and performance are often Martin’s mode of working though Martin’s own body often forms part of the work being apparently altered through plastic surgery or make-up to construct its discourse. His work frequently engages in the notion of “identity” and its relationship to the way in which mass and fashion media use “identity” as a commodity. Sexuality, gender and race –and more often the complex intersections between all of these things- feature strongly in his work. His work has a wry quality often expressing the desire for the unattainable glamour and perfection promoted by media images whilst simultaneously poking a self-effacing finger at himself; someone who should know better. Whilst the modes of his subject matter –the mainstream fashion media- have often been the means by which he has made work, more recent performances have taken this discourse even further: literally “using” or placing himself within the musical performances of Belgian Electro stars (and Karl Lagerfeld cover duo) Vive La Fete or swapping songs with each other. Recent performances in this trope have included the performance at Cokkie Snoei as part of the “New Gothic” project and work at FOAM as part of the Guy Bourdin retrospective. DJ Chantelle is a Rotterdam-based conceptual artist whose avatar practice is as much part of the work with the “visual arts boy band”, the collective, The Artoonists (de Artoonisten) as part of a body of individual work that pokes an irreverent, dadaistic swipe at contemporary Dutch society and, in particular, the relationship between gender, sexuality, power and consumption. “Objects of Desire” remains a preoccupation for DJ Chantelle, the bizarre avatar with the body of a suited man and the made-up head of an archetypal bourgeois woman who produces work that reflect deep seated desires to consume luxury and exclusivity as the ultimate fashionable social power accessories. Subversively political, the works, however, defy simplistic readings as a mere critique on consumerism. What makes DJ Chantelle unique within the contemporary conceptual field is the concentration on very traditional production methods: ceramics, glass and granite works are often allowed an existence of their own, sometimes combined with photography, performance or works on paper drawing on one of DJC’s former existences as a political cartoonist. In addition to showing works with The Artoonists, DJ Chantelle was also one of these artists commissioned by the city of Rotterdam to creat the Martin Toonder Monument, a monument to the Netherlands’ best loved cartoonist. This seminal work –executed in pure 19th century materials such granite, bronze, gold leaf- is one of the key pieces of post-20th century public commissioning by a Dutch city, approached entirely without concern for the modernist orthodoxy. The large body of work that forms the modular installation “Self Serving Salome” takes as its starting point DJC’s preoccupation with French decadent texts such as “Against Nature” and “decadent” aesthetics, in particular the works of Aubrey Beardsley, an unusual starting point for a Dutch artist. The work involved a number of large-scale ceramic pieces handmade by the artist using traditional techniques. These are then placed in site-specific relation to other photographic, video and sculptural elements, depending on the unpredictable mood of the weird diva. Jennifer Tee is one of the Netherlands’ pre-eminent younger artists. Her work that has been shown internationally and drawn acclaim and awards –such as the Prix de Rome- is most usually associated with reflecting her cultural experience as Chinese-Dutch, drawing on both western practices and clearly Chinese iconography which perhaps also reflects her dialogue with the rich body of work emerging within contemporary Chinese art. Another artist whose work is constantly refreshed by experimentation with different craft techniques, she has worked in a broad range of media, perhaps the most common form being installations that involve the use of strong colour often through use of fabric, iconography drawing on traditional Chinese elements and forms such as embroidery or ceramics. Whilst the issue of cultural identity is usually fore grounded in Jennifer’s work, the issue of gender and identity remains evident in almost all work; sometimes obscure, personal and hard to read or at other times –such as in some of the video work- almost universal in it tragicomic ability to engage the most cynical viewer. Risk Hazekamp is an artist from The Hague whose photographic works take the issue of gender by the horns, quite literally in some cases since the images of “the West”, cowboys and all the baggage that they carry in terms of gender and media constructions of gender, are prevalent. In works that use the figure, disturbingly familiar clothing and landscape to deconstruct –or perhaps reconstruct- the idealised images of maleness and femaleness, Risk’s work often exists in a state of ambivalent “femanliness”. Is she seeking to attain the perfect image of a lesbian Malboro woman with tinges of a female James Dean? Or is she asking us to think about how Hollywood manipulates us? And does the bullfigher imagery challenge the sexist swagger of Hemingway or reflect a blatant admiration? Sometimes it is difficult to tell and perhaps one does not need to since therein lies the power of the work to arrest. Risk’s work has been showin in numerous European countries, the USA and Japan. Jasmina Fecovic grew up in Zeeland and currently lives in Antwerp. In her works she uses her skills as a trained documentary filmmaker to construct complex layers of meaning and possible readings. Often taking a clear documentary approach -for example, a real person as a subject- she subsequently plays with and challenges expectations. These might be expectations about the relationship between certain aesthetics and certain genres of film, expectations about what is actually being "documented" and perhaps most characteristic to her work, expectations about personality itself; where we end and an icon begins. Central to her work is a deeply personal connection -as an individual woman- to the "subjects" of her films, usually iconic figures such as Mathilde Willink or Vincent Gallo. Yet, as the works unfold with an ease of transparency and fluidity not usually associated with "art" film, their subtle and clever structure undermines the very format we think we are watching. Newly-shot and found footage juxtapose in such a way that we are left wondering exactly what is "real" and "documentary" and, even more importantly, exactly whose experience is being documented. Working with the conscious awareness of viewer position in a documentary context, Jasmina Feckovic is always working with more than one story. Most obviously, there is the narrative of her apparent subjects. But as the works unfold, it also becomes apparent that she and her own questions about identity are always present as a subject. Cool on the surface, the works cleverly manage to communicate a passionate, empathetic connection with the subjects of her gaze. And, in turn, they reflect back at the audience questions about how personality is constructed whether these be the personalities of icons built in the public gaze and, more interestingly, through the fundamentally irrational processes by which we form deep connections with complete -arguably non-existent- strangers who can stand as repositories for or own aspirations, losses and processes of self-awareness. Whether in an apparently more traditional documentary film language –such as in the work “Mathildelicious”- or whether using approaches more traditionally associated with “art” film – such as in the work “Goddess” with is “guest appearance” by Maya Deren- her work uses complex structures that assimilate viewer awareness of “real” icons and repositions it in relation to her own experience and identity. Siliva Russel lives and works between New York and her native Netherlands. She works primarily with drawing. Her works have been traditionally produced through a structured process: she makes at least one drawing each day and then uses her prolific output to produce filtered showings of the work. These works which, until quite recently, have been fairly small, often produced in rapid to response to the events of her day, are sometimes shown individually and sometimes shown as an installation directly onto the wall of the gallery, a greater whole being built up of the individual drawings. Female figures and representations of women –perhaps autobiographical- are a strong feature of the works. The drawings are seldom uniform, often varying in method, materials or colour, but taken as a body of work they seem to share certain characteristics. Their use of colour and content feels instinctive rather than designed; they feel self-reflective whether the content is transparent or not. The suggestion of teenage doodles on pages of perfumed journals and fragmented displays on a million bedroom walls becomes all the more apparent when they are shown in the grouped installations. They ask us to consider the process by which young women reflect on their own identity, in formation, through images produced by their own hands. More recent works have seen a move to the opposite end of the spectrum; large-scale drawings in which the sombre heaviness of black lines defining heavy female figures stands alone or in juxtaposition to garish colour. Marga Weimans is from Rotterdam and recently completed her final year as design student in the prestigious fashion department of the Antwerp Royal Academy of Fine Arts. Not surprisingly given that institution, her work holds its own under the rigorous expectations of fashion as both high-skill craft and as a conceptual process contributing to visual culture. The work is special for a number of reasons. The unusual and creative combination of sources for recent works is one of these. Combining imagery from European fashion history (and more specifically “dandyism” within that broad topic), nature, African dress forms and Rotterdam black street cultures, the work develops a discourse that traces the connections between these apparently disparate topics into a cohesive and beautiful whole. Perhaps even more significant is that, therein, the work also elaborates the often-neglected black Dutch experience. There is one level on which the work can be taken as a visual mediation, in form and meaning of materials, on the experience of African Diaspora. However, it would be both patronising and short-sighted to read the work as only detailing a post-colonial discourse. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of all is the discussion the work initiates; a discussion initiated by a black Dutch woman designer about gender and sexual identity within the cultures to which the work refers. It confronts head-on the gender politics of clothing within specific cultural contexts. If heated debate occurs within contemporary black European communities –for example, are young, liberated black woman from ethnic minority communities resisting restriction or neglecting their traditional cultural values? – then one thing the work does is raise immediate questions about reactionary (male) positions. For example, is the current reactionary (male) position on gender identity actually culturally intrinsic or itself a reaction to oppression? “Maleness” and “femininity” from narrow positions are readily challenged by work that asks us to think of the forms of traditional African male dress, or indeed, European medieval court costume. Of course, whilst all these layers of consideration and meaning add additional depth to her work, the key factor that should not be overlooked is that it is, regardless of this, beautiful and dramatic craft made by a skilled practitioner. Arjette Hinke Schreuders, artist, designer and commentator, hails from Groningen but lives in Amsterdam. Her practice in these areas varies, perhaps in reflection of the demands of the practices themselves; conceptual, applied and reflective. The rare opportunity to have access to an artist’s range of ”identities” so easily –made possible through her longstanding presence on the web in the form of her “suds and soda” website- itself raises interesting questions about the nature of creative practice, identity and authorship. As a visual artist, Hinke’s practice walks a path beaten in the 1970s in its use of craft skills traditionally associated with women –embroidery, sewing, needlework- to construct a subversive, clear feminist comment. In Hinke’s work, this lineage is reasserted to construct things that are at once beautifully made objects and make the political dimension clearly visible: embroidered “cum shots” splash the faces that appear to be lifted from porn films; a parody of a chic shopping bag holds a collection of comedy felt dildo’s; and a fabric representation of a woman’s head invites us with her obscene blow-up dolly lips….. The political dimension to the work –whether feminist or post-feminist is subject to discussion- does not conceal a certain sense of humour; a certain warm quality that invites us to share, to touch, and not to recoil in shame or shared anger. Perhaps this is because of the complex identities being addressed within the work. Yes, we are presented with images that we at once recognise as the traditionally repressed female role or her officially liberated and sexually open counterpart. And yet neither escapes a certain wry ambivalence, neither seems to promise a template for Utopia nor complete despair. Monique Benthin grew up in Rotterdam where she lives and works. Having first trained as a professional dancer, Monique pursued a second creative training, focussing on photography. She has subsequently produced a body of work of her own and worked as a cultural producer and curator, including initiating and executing projects for the Dutch Photo Museum. Her work has focussed on female representation. In one sense, it explores the signifiers of female identity: the body form, clothing, and accessories. But, this is done in an anti-naturalistic way. Models pose in formal positions that seem to reference Monique’s background as a dancer. Or perhaps they ask us to question the way in which dance has played a historic role in constructing meanings that are deeply linked to gender identity. And, indeed, whether taken from dance or not, the issue of pose in an art historical sense is very evident. It is additionally emphasised by specific choices of clothing that, itself, seems to reference European painting. The choice of colour and fore grounded accessories places another layer. For example, a protection mask could be imprisoning, not allowing a woman to show her face, but then again, it brings a menacing powerful quality that makes her almost aggressive. Whether presented in the complex way such as the large-scale prints, or in other contexts, the way in which a woman is identified by markers is a theme that runs through the work. For example, in a collaborative project, she asked photographers to make portraits of women with alopecia. Whilst this portrait project obviously explored a broad range of complex issues, the question of how gender meanings are constructed and indicated -in this case simply through the presence of hair- is clearly one strand. Ken Pratt, 2005 |
