'I want people to look beyond the women’s bodies and closer at the emotional truth of our desires. Women’s bodies through art have been objectified. There is of course a pushback on this, the male gaze combatted with the female gaze. But often we as women sexualize ourselves, or make ourselves one dimensional, hiding the reality of our desires.'
Exhibition statement
I want people to look beyond the women’s bodies and closer at the emotional truth of our desires. Women’s bodies through art have been objectified. There is of course a pushback on this, the male gaze combatted with the female gaze. But often we as women sexualize ourselves, or make ourselves one dimensional, hiding the reality of our desires. In her book“Three Women” that explores female desire, Lisa Taddeo writes, “We pretend to want things we don’t want so nobody can see us not getting what we need.” Pre tense is a default for so many women and I wanted to tell the stories that we don’t tell about the relationships that changed us the most: affairs, abortions, abuse, young love, old love, polyamorous relationships, and desire in its many forms.
The images are part of a conversation, as I also share my story of an affair I had when I was much younger which changed how I valued myself. It only seemed fair that if I ask these women to be vulnerable and reveal themselves emotionally and physically that I should be prepared to do the same. There is an open invitation to photograph me if they would like to.
This series is about the relationships that have changed us the most. They are not the relationships where we were necessarily loved the most or the most loved, but the ones where we were changed irrevocably by desire.These relationships are stamped on us like invisible tattoos, written into our bodies. The photographs are just as much about the interviews and words as they are about the image. Before my shoot, I do an in-depth talk about the relationship.
The photographs are taken on Polaroid and then scanned and printed. The handwriting is my own and the quotes taken from interviews by the different women.
Artist Bio
My background is journalism, and I was the West Africa Correspondent for AlJazeera. After leaving journalism, I worked for the United Nations focusing on creating films and multimedia, and lived in various countries including Mali, Haiti and Kenya. I grew up inZimbabwe and am currently based in London.
My creative photographs are a reaction to the way traditional journalism tells stories. I focus on trying to visuallyshow the hidden, emotional stories that we experience but do not see. I am interested in exploring social issues in a way that is not shown by traditional photojournalism. Both my journalism work and my creative work can be seen on
www.gabriellemenezes.com
Exhibition statement
I want people to look beyond the women’s bodies and closer at the emotional truth of our desires. Women’s bodies through art have been objectified. There is of course a pushback on this, the male gaze combatted with the female gaze. But often we as women sexualize ourselves, or make ourselves one dimensional, hiding the reality of our desires. In her book“Three Women” that explores female desire, Lisa Taddeo writes, “We pretend to want things we don’t want so nobody can see us not getting what we need.” Pre tense is a default for so many women and I wanted to tell the stories that we don’t tell about the relationships that changed us the most: affairs, abortions, abuse, young love, old love, polyamorous relationships, and desire in its many forms.
The images are part of a conversation, as I also share my story of an affair I had when I was much younger which changed how I valued myself. It only seemed fair that if I ask these women to be vulnerable and reveal themselves emotionally and physically that I should be prepared to do the same. There is an open invitation to photograph me if they would like to.
This series is about the relationships that have changed us the most. They are not the relationships where we were necessarily loved the most or the most loved, but the ones where we were changed irrevocably by desire.These relationships are stamped on us like invisible tattoos, written into our bodies. The photographs are just as much about the interviews and words as they are about the image. Before my shoot, I do an in-depth talk about the relationship.
The photographs are taken on Polaroid and then scanned and printed. The handwriting is my own and the quotes taken from interviews by the different women.
Artist Bio
My background is journalism, and I was the West Africa Correspondent for AlJazeera. After leaving journalism, I worked for the United Nations focusing on creating films and multimedia, and lived in various countries including Mali, Haiti and Kenya. I grew up inZimbabwe and am currently based in London.
My creative photographs are a reaction to the way traditional journalism tells stories. I focus on trying to visuallyshow the hidden, emotional stories that we experience but do not see. I am interested in exploring social issues in a way that is not shown by traditional photojournalism. Both my journalism work and my creative work can be seen on
www.gabriellemenezes.com
