masquerade

In the dictionary, the word masquerade means an assembly of persons wearing masks for disguise. The project title “Masquerade of the body” translated in my own point of view means ” Parading of the body”. I researched the art and photographic works of Cindy Sherman, Man Ray, Salvador Dali, Araki and Nan Goldin. Combined with my beliefs and personal opinions, these were the main inspirations for the ideas and photographs I produced. I also researched on the Internet the various ways the female body is viewed from different cultures around the world. After gathering all the research needed for this project I decided to show my ideas by using myself as a model for my photographs. I wanted to show three different ways in which my body, a female body is used and also to project from my images that the female body is a powerful thing.

My first image is of myself imitating the famous pose of the Lord Jesus Christ on the crucifix. In this photograph I am not illustrating that I am Jesus or that I am a messiah. I am merely using my body to express myself artistically. In this image I am also stating my religion by placing a cross, the symbol for Christianity in the background and like Jesus, I too am Gods child. I show this by posing like Jesus on the crucifix. I imitate the crucified pose because like Jesus, I too have pain in my life. They are not similar to the pain and severe suffering Jesus experienced in his final days on earth but personal hurt and painful experiences in which my belief in God has helped me to understand and rise above. You will notice in my picture that I am not literally crucified on the cross but I have my arms and hands raised in the air as a display of my love and total acceptance of God in my life. The poem I have written on my image is as follows;

WHEN I WAS ON FIRE
NO ONE COULD SAVE ME BUT YOU
STRANGE THINGS, WOULD DESIRE
MAKE FOOLISH PEOPLE DO
I NEVER KNEW I COULD NEED
SOMEBODY LIKE YOU
I NEVER DREAMED THAT I COULD LOVE
SOMEBODY LIKE YOU
THIS IS MY LIFE STORY
AND IT’S FOR YOU ONLY
I”LL GIVE YOU EVERYTHING
YOU ARE MY MAN
YOU ARE MY GOD

It is a short description of how I came to have passion for God and how I devote my soul and body to him. I understand that the nature of my image might result in offending those with religious opinions, but I believe in the freedom of self-expression and the freedom of speech in any form. This image was inspired by Salvador Dali’s paintings of crucifixions and a book written by Henri JM Nouwen entitled “Letters to Marc about Jesus”.

My second image is of myself as a geisha/prostitute. This image represents the use of the body, the female body for sexual purposes. The body can be utilized to sell sex, have sex or to provoke sexual desires. In this image I am seen as a prostitute showing off my body to a costumer. My costume, the silk kimono, the geisha shoes, the see through dress with printed hearts and the provocative pose I make all symbolize sex or to provoke sexual desires. The black background and the silhouette of a man smoking a cigarette in the corner observing my body add a sleazy atmosphere to the image. I also aimed to show a sub story of a prostitute’s emotion towards the nature of her job. My body language conveys the want for sex but my disengaged face and facial expression shows the sorrow and empty emotions she harbors and the reluctance to do what she is expected to deliver. The sub story of a prostitute’s life is based on my own perceptions of how I view the world of prostitution. This image was inspired by Araki’s images of prostitutes and young Asian female hostesses.

My third image portrays the use of the female body as a biological tool to produce people. The female body is utilized to create another body, to create another life, to create another story and to make a small yet important adjustment to the world. To produce another body from your own is the most amazing ability the female body possesses. I decided to present this idea by using ultra violet paint to paint on my stomach an image of a fetus inside a womb. I used ultra violet light to bring out the image of the fetus and I positioned the light so to create shadows of myself in the background, which symbolize the repetition of the body. This photograph was taken in a shower, hence the bathroom tiles and the UV light, which was the only lighting, used. It also adds to a ‘clinical’ feel about the nature of childbirth. My face and body are in the dark due to the fact that I wanted the image of the fetus to be the main focal point of the photograph. I wanted to produce a photograph that resembled an X ray thus creating a futuristic rendition of an ultrasound scan as the presentation of my idea. Pictures of X-rays, scans and Man Ray’s style and use of lighting in his photography inspired this image.

Overall, I feel that I have conveyed my ideas through my photographs effectively, by using props such as the silk kimono, the wooden cross, UV paint and UV light. The ” Fetus” and “Geisha” images are presenting two obvious uses for the female body. My “Gods child” photograph is somewhat a more personal view on using my body as a form of self-expression.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Cruz, A & Smith, E. “ Cindy Sherman Retrospective”. Thames & Hudson. 1997. General reference only.
• Heiferman, M “ Nan Goldin The Ballad of Sexual Dependency” Aperture, 1985. General reference only.
• Kleiner, F S. “ Gardners Art through the Ages”. Thompson & Wandsworth, 2006
• Araki, N. “ Nobuyoshi Araki Shino” Graphic-Sha Publishing Co Lmtd, 2002
• Dali, S “ Diary of a Genius” Creation Books, 1998
• Henri JM Nouwen “ Letters to Marc about Jesus” 1997