Welke delen van ons lichaam onthullen onze identiteit het best? De ruggengraat kan wat Westerhuis betreft op nummer één komen te staan. Waarom is onze identiteit zo sterk verbonden met ons gezicht, als de meeste vitale functies van ons lichaam via de ruggengraat lopen? Back Buttocks Stool is een doorkruising van traditionele opvattingen over portretfotografie, want het gezicht ontbreekt. De serie roept ook vragen op over kwetsbaarheid. Waarom draaien de figuren ons de rug toe? Een houding die in evolutionair opzicht bovendien extra gevaarlijk is? De portretten krijgen zo een extra emotionele lading. Kijk je beter, dan zie je dat de figuren introspectief ogen.
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Artist Statement
Richard Westerhuis | 2016“Back Buttocks Stool” subverts the tradition of portraiture by focusing on the back. This series of photographs features models seated on a stool, nude, facing away from the camera, their heads leaning down so far that they are out of view. Initially, these figures are perceived as anonymous, but the project challenges why that should be our perception. Why is identity so conflated with being able to see the face? Our backbones are the core of our structure, and here we see them as graceful lines marked by each vertebrae. The most vital aspects of our bodies flow through this backbone; our nervous system, fluid that powers the brain, the mechanisms that enable all of our sensory and motor skills. It is supported by some of the most important muscles in our bodies and, in turn, supports our head and our minds. From this perspective, our backs capture more of our essence than even our faces could.
The framing of their bodies and the poses they take are reminiscent of sculptors like Rodin or Brancusi, with a lens of admiration for the musculature and bone structure of the human figure in and of itself. That’s not to say that these portraits are without emotion, however. The figures’ varying postures reveal a wide range of feelings. Some appear proud, introspective, while others seem weary, even distraught. Without looking at each other face-to-face, the sitter loses their self-consciousness from the eye of the photographer. They can be at ease and relax fully into who they really are. There is also a deep sense of intimacy in a portrait from this perspective. Biologically, showing your back to someone is a sign of trust. If you’re seeing someone’s back, it means they feel safe enough around you to let their guard down. In this vulnerable position, they allow you to observe their back for as long as you desire, uninterrupted by feeling their own gaze on you.
In these ways, these photographs strive to upend our notions of portraiture, identity, and humanity.
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AWARDS
26 Nov 2018
Back Buttocks Stool
Photography Winner Visual Art Open 2018Chester, United Kingdom
14 June 2018
Back Buttocks Stool
Bronze Award PX3 Prix de la PhotographieParis, France
