gentle reminder, 2018
c-print, 100 x 65,4 cm
polymer film, 100 x 65,4 cm
The installation gentle reminder is a critical examination of Man Ray's photo "Noire et Blanche".
Gentle reminder problematizes the fetishization and exotisation of Black people by white people as well as the (cultural) appropriation and exploitation.
Man Ray who lived at that time in France used the Baule mask as an accessory taken from the by then French colony Côte d'Ivoire.
In the installation, the mask is replaced by a mobile phone, which is an example of the ongoing exploitation of natural resources by the processed tantalum, extracted from the ore coltan. Coltan is found mainly in central Africa. Western companies often obtain this natural resource from illegal mines. Not seldomly workers in these mines are children.
c-print, 100 x 65,4 cm
polymer film, 100 x 65,4 cm
The installation gentle reminder is a critical examination of Man Ray's photo "Noire et Blanche".
Gentle reminder problematizes the fetishization and exotisation of Black people by white people as well as the (cultural) appropriation and exploitation.
Man Ray who lived at that time in France used the Baule mask as an accessory taken from the by then French colony Côte d'Ivoire.
In the installation, the mask is replaced by a mobile phone, which is an example of the ongoing exploitation of natural resources by the processed tantalum, extracted from the ore coltan. Coltan is found mainly in central Africa. Western companies often obtain this natural resource from illegal mines. Not seldomly workers in these mines are children.
The mobile phone also plays a huge part in our lifes when it comes to self-representation. The constant pursuit of self-optimization has become a part of many people and by image-processing as well as photographic filters (masks), people seek to portray a specific image of themselves.
Furthermore, the installation draws attention to the repeated de-subjectification of women by men. By taking the photograph of Kiki de Montparnasse for the magazine Vogue, Man Ray was part of the commodification process of the female body.
This time it is a man who is lying powerless on the table – turned into an object by the female photographer.
Furthermore, the installation draws attention to the repeated de-subjectification of women by men. By taking the photograph of Kiki de Montparnasse for the magazine Vogue, Man Ray was part of the commodification process of the female body.
This time it is a man who is lying powerless on the table – turned into an object by the female photographer.
Photo: Elodie Grethen
Photo: Nico Kaiser