When the upper lip loses its softness, series 2020-2021

Interest in everyday situations and the universal cycles and circuits of life permeates my photographs. Experimenting with photographic processes and different support materials is also an essential part of my artistic practice. When the upper lip loses its softness takes up the traditional genre of female self-representation interwoven with performative elements. I use my body as a tool to explore questions about my own identity and role as an aging woman. 

The physical and emotional changes during menopause urge me to do so. I am struggling with the aging process. I suffer from insomnia and depression. My periods have stopped, my hair is getting thinner, and my lips are tighter. The awareness of fading youth and my own finiteness hurts me. I am almost ashamed of getting old, which in turn, embarrasses me. Because the implicitness with which the young and intact body is presented to us as a non-plus-ultra provokes me. The auto-portraits created with self-timer evolved out of unpredictable, everyday movements and performative incidents, which I transform into consciously planned actions for the photographs. I stage quotidian objects such as cushions, fruits, and nylons - motifs referencing art and fashion history, linked to personal experiences. The creation process, in which I strive to show my best side and do more sports and yoga than usual, is also addressed. Still-lifes of memories - like marbles and mixtapes reflect my generation. Old photographs and Polaroids are woven into the series, negotiating the photographic medium and bearing witness to transience. In the middle of it all, I watch myself grow old. Although the work is based on personal confessions, it is equally concerned with the visibility and representation of female identity in general.