 Yellow, 2003 photographed by Roy Stuart, 20 x 30 cm Madeleine Berkhemer Yellow Her interest lay in the tension between order and chaos, between geometric and biomorphic forms, seriality and singularity as well as between continuity and constant change. She often chose non-traditional materials to express this, such as string, sand or latex and placed her work in unfamiliar positions: so that sculptural arrangements were often hung from the ceiling or stretched across individual spatial sequences, leant against the wall or continued on the floor, in this way retaining their change-based appearance. Madeleine Berkhemer also presents herself to the observer in this way, with an awareness of her appeal and the feminine power of her sexuality. In surrendering her own body, which functions as a sculptural measure vis-à-vis the observer, she creates three types of women from the construction, Milly, Molly and Mandy, portrayed as prostitutes, her alter ego. These three fictional characters constantly flow into one another, highlighting Berkhemer's interest in the body and in sexuality. In this context, the body also signifies the medium which can be both stretched and also broken down into tiny microscopic bits, into cells. This dissection, the collage of individual details taken from porn magazines and the physical aspects are of interest to her in that male voyeurism is already factored in. She has herself photographed by the erotic photographer Roy Stuart, drawing parallels with Joe d'Allesandro, the hero of Andy Warhol's films "Heat" and "Trash" and seeking to examine the differences between the sexes. In a self-confident pose she positions herself as a sculpture in an interplay of dominance and submission. In having herself photographed with a heap of men's shoes, she is not only making a reference to fetishism, coquetry and the ironic question of male dominance, but also the attempt to step into their shoes, to assume their perspective. No criticism of male domains or their destruction is intended here; rather, she is infiltrating in a lascivious and direct confrontation of their power in a subversive manner. Likewise, she opens up systems of the market, dependencies and economic structures in order to use them and disavow them herself. Exhibition: 16.4. - 22.5.2004 Gallery hours: Tue-Sat 2 - 7 pm Galerie Sollertis 12 Rue des Régans F-31000 Toulouse Telephone +33 561 554 332 Fax +33 561 253 413 Email sollertis@sollertis.com www.sollertis.com |
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