Hester Scheurwater
De Rotterdamse mediakunstenaar Hester Scheurwater stond het afgelopen jaar in het middelpunt van de belangstelling, nadat het NRC Handelsblad de directe beeldtaal en ingrijpende thematiek van haar werk had beschreven. De expliciete beelden in haar films, foto’s en video-installaties choqueren en roepen discussie op over de vermeende seksualisering van de samenleving. Met haar werk vindt Scheurwater dan ook aansluiting bij de internationale feministische kunst.
Na GOGBOT en Incubate is Hester Scheurwater nu te zien met nieuw werk tijdens de Twente Biennale.
Media artist Hester Scheurwater causes upheaval with her direct imagery and controversial subject-matter. She is associated with international feminist art: her explicit images fuel the debate on the sexualisation of modern-day society.
The photography, short films and video performances of Dutch artist Hester Scheurwater are often blocked on the Internet. The 39-year-old’s Self-obsessed iPhone series, which explores her desires, obsessions and fears sparked media hype in the Netherlands. The explicit imagery shocked many and fueled debate on the sexualization of society. But the editor of Scheurwater’s first book of photography, SHOOTING BACK, defends her work. Zurich-based curator, writer and contemporary photography specialist Walter Keller compares it to Rober Mapplethorpe’s sexually-charged imagery or Francesca Woodman’s erotic mise-en-scene.”Scheurwater’s visual self-explorations extend the boundaries of another main topic in art history and photography – the pose. But in her pictures, model and artist are one,” says Keller. “Yes, this is sexually explicit work, but even more, it is a curious and smart research about herself, where the artist looks at herself from both sides of the mirror.”
