Hester Scheurwater
My work is a "visual pamphlet" in which I respond to the contemporary image of the double standard surrounding the sexuality of women in the media. I make self-portraits and self-representations of women and mainly work with the medium of photography (formerly video). I use performance photography. I use the photos that arise in my performative sessions as interventions in public space: uploads on social media, sticking posters in the city, stickers, sending cards and other actions in the public space.
I see this intervention in the public space as a territorial act (visual pamphlet) distributed in the public space in order to reclaim that public space (normally for advertising) for women. I also participate in formal presentations in exhibitions at home and abroad.
Now that the power and censorship of social media is even greater
and narrowing the debate around women's self-presentation, I feel the need to reclaim public space in various ways.
I see this intervention in the public space as a territorial act (visual pamphlet) distributed in the public space in order to reclaim that public space (normally for advertising) for women. I also participate in formal presentations in exhibitions at home and abroad.
Now that the power and censorship of social media is even greater
and narrowing the debate around women's self-presentation, I feel the need to reclaim public space in various ways.
Desk
bookporn
Wall
desktop
inspiration
work in progress inspiration
overview studio
study work in progress
‘"But when what was once taboo becomes the new normal, going back to tradition is sometimes a way to break free. Old methods of subjection acquire a critical function. " Somze’
‘As a brash commentary on the male gaze, feminine roles and objectification and the boundaries of permissible behavior in this evolving electronic world we live in.’
Werk
Sincerely Not Yours
All I Ever Wanted 2015
Shooting Back 2010
Bio
Hester Scheurwater studied monumental art at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in The Hague. Under the guise of self-portraits, she investigates and critiques the role of woman as a sex object. Photographs of herself posing before a mirror reflects both Scheurwater’s inner thoughts and outward appearance. “The mirrored self-images are my way of reacting on the imitated and fake media images, which are constantly calling upon our imagination, without intending to be taken too seriously, ” she explains. ” I try to deconstruct this call’s effect with my reactions by switching the ‘subject-object’ relationship, without being victimized by it.” Scheurwater’s work is sexually explicit, and therefore well known.The explicit images in her work are shocking and prompt discussion about the purported sexualisation of society. At the same time, her works also share links with international feminist art. Scheurwater’s videos were part of feminist programs and exhibitions, including those at the Brooklyn Museum and the Blanton Museum of Art in the USA.
