Viviane Sassen: “... it sometimes looks like a body with three heads.”

L.A. Raeven

A year ago a friend of mine invited me for a “body image” project. To sketch the administrative stuff. Was I surprised to find that there were no bodies, nor images, rather a re-rendition of “body talk”? This I could do, but for my surprisy surprise my favourite girls did not get approved. They were NOT normal, NOT likeable.

I got hooked up the first time I laid my eyes on L.A.Raeven’s work; back in 2005, following them since then, if stuff’s available; indebted to them for Viviane Sassen and John Cowper Powys. Their work is wonderfully contradicting. It seems like their audience does expect the texts (those small “explanatory” remarks). But it does not expect the images associated with them.

Anyway, their work is clear, simple, harsh and visually good (or shocking, depends on your “lines”). They do not USE provocation, they PERFORM it. Formally works are suspected to stick to the criteria for social inclusion, but may be excluded for not being nice, not respecting the boundaries.

Racial tolerance is a must, right? So let’s look not for the white, blond, blue-eyed sperm donor, but for the ideal black one. It is OK to include, but NOT to the point of preference. (No whites, 2007)
Thin is your perfect shape, right? Why’s the hatred against two perfectly thin women? It is OK to be thin, but NOT too thin. (Ideal individual, 2001)
Love knows many faces, right? Do you love your siblings? What’s wrong with the perfect harmony between the twins? Why is the rivalry and obsession? It is OK to love, but NOT too much. (Love knows many faces, 2005)

The audience and critics got enraged and defensive to the point of insult and attacks on the reason. Instead of analyzing their own enraged response, started to pile up explanatory attempts. Well, surprisy surprise: “Let’s PERFORM them, right? Lions are living creatures, they must eat. We are NOT?”

something like an interview