Living as a woman in a patriarchal society always raises questions about one’s existence, a conflict with one’s own body, the imposed limits, and the almost predetermined destiny. Even in the art world, which claims to be rather progressive, women have always been in the position of being observed, in other words, in a dominated position. As Michel Foucault points out, to see is to control. Thus, the one who controls the camera or the paintbrush is the one who dominates the object being photographed or painted.
From the outset, man is in a creative and subjective position, while the woman is in a position of being looked at as an object. Her body is offered to the artist and the viewer. Thus, according to this distribution, man exercises control and power over the woman and her body, whether in art or in society.
In this series, I sought to represent the conflict of a female body with the two colors red and black, and all the meanings associated with these colors. I covered my body with two fabrics, red and black, stood in front of my camera, and danced a few steps.
Dancing was the first way for me to free my body, to connect with it. Dancing has been and remains the only moment when I feel truly in my body. It is the only time when I sense that I fully belong to my being.
Camera: Canon 1100D // 18-55mm.
Creation date: March 2018.
Location: Gabes, Tunisia.
This is a series of self-portraits.
This series was exhibited in 2018, in Tunis, as part of the feminist festival Chouftouhonna.
Aya Chriki 