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portrait
Girls somewhere
between the innocent world of childhood and the world of desire and
adolescent beauty; young women and men under physical and psychological
stress: hellen van meene and bettina von zwehl take photographs of
"normal" young people in particular situations. They both
search for new definitions to describe the borderline between reality
and fiction, and define the role of the photographer towards her model.
As artists they succeed in bringing new elements to portrait photography.
Their need to go beyond mere imagery is found in the way they each tell
a story through their models and through their precise manipulation of
the setting.
hellen van meene's small color photographs
portray girls at an age between puberty and adolescence in a context of
playful nudity and eroticism. The scene, the place and the clothing are
choosen with care by the artist and contrast strongly with the frank
realism with which the girls are depicted. hellen photographs with
natutural light, and does not make any effort to conceal imperfections.
On the contrary, faces with acne, crooked teeth, a chubby girl with a
bare belly, a wet blouse with a breast showing through, all reveal a
deeper reality made up of imperfections, desire and vulnerablity.
hellen van meene, born in 1972 in Alkmaar, the
Netherlands: lives in Alkmaar, The Netherlands; 1992-1996 Gerrit
Rietveld Academie of Amsterdam; 1995 College of Art, Edinburgh; a
selection of individual shows: 1998 Galerie Paul Andriesse, Amsterdam;
1999 The Photographer's Gallery, London; 2000 De Kabinetten van de
Vleeshal, Middelburg, The Netherlands; a selection of group shows: 1996
"Scanning", Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; 1999 "Conditions
Humaines, Portraits Intimes", Mois de la Photo, Montreal.
bettina van zwehl' s three series of portraits
document particular physical states of the photographed models. An almost scientific and
rigorously uniform method is adhered to by the artist in order to control each of her
models, who must follow a strict routine before and during the shoot. In "Untitled
I" (100 x 80 cm.), bettina concentrates on the faces of seven models upon their
awakening. She has her subjects sleep in her apartment and wakes them very early in the
morning. She dresses them in more or less the same white outfit and sets them in a corner
in order to heighten their uneasiness before taking their picture.
In "Untitled II" (120 x 90 cm.) the models are all exposed in equal measure to a
strong source of heat after having exercised sports for quite some time. This uniformity
of approach and repetition of circumstance allow us to focus on small differences such as
skin color, facial expression, posture and imperceptible limb- and muscle movements:
physical aspects that are beyond the control of both the artist and the models.
bettina von zwehl, born in 1972 in Munchen, Germany: lives in London;
1994-1997 Bachelor of Arts (with honors) in Photography, London College of Printing;
1997-1999 Master of Arts in Fine Art Photography, Royal College of Art, London; a
selection of group shows: 1998 National Portrait Gallery, London; 1999 "Modern Times
I", Gothenburg, Switzerland, Hasselblad Centre; "Grosse Kunstausstellung",
Munchen, Haus der Kunst; 2000 "Breathless", The Victoria and Albert Museum,
London
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go to the other artist's photos
1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7
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