Introduction
Décolleté Instead of Poster Wall
A sensual confrontation through and through: this is what Sabine Dehnel’s photographs of oversized décolletés in different cuts represent. The picture details we see have been reduced to the insignia of womanliness – a classic subject connoted as “male view”. Deprived of their heads and showing a trace of self-confident, natural and also provoking eroticism, the female décolleté, embedded in different fashion styles, acts as background for an amulet with a black and white photograph of a woman. An explicit, almost passionate colour style on the exposed skin emphasises the body’s shape, while covering its true surface. Protection against other people’s views or a subtle invitation to take a closer look? In their photographic depth of focus, the clothes’ materials substantiate a conceptual image build-up, while being diametrically opposed to the painted skin. Following above invitation, we quickly recognise that the clothes have been especially designed and made for the woman wearing them, thus developing an almost personal relationship. These confusing photographs avoid any type of voyeurism. In her staged photographs, Sabine Dehnel captures the interplay between homage to the painting which took place directly on the model’s body, and photography, which, on the other hand, recites itself in the black and white portraits. They confront us by questioning again and again the credibility of the medium and image. ...
C. Musterer
