/ AVATĀRA by DENIS ROUVRE
10 Sep 2023 / 15 Oct 2023
Denis Rouvre is a world renowned photographer , most well known for his striking portraiture He has won numerous prizes such as the World Press Photo Award, Sony Photography award , and a Hassel blad Master award. Due to his exte nsive accolades he has exhibited his wor k internationally and has been acquired and exhibited by various museums.
AVATĀRA
They are called Mistica, Bboy, Vitor and Demonia or Drika. They live in Brazil or travelled from other Latin American countries. They were invited to pose in front of the camera of Denis Rouvre. The action takes place in Sao Paulo, where the photographer beckoned the rally. The protocol is simple. They pose frontally, lit by a soft and subtle light in front of a black background. Just as they are, without any unnecessary effects.
This is where the heart of the matter lies. Appearing before us “the new man”, transformed, augmented , singular, unique in his genre. The body is no longer a carnal envelope, the body here is a manifesto, a hymn. Here, we question beauty and ugliness, freedom and constraint. “Become what you are” affirms Nietzsche, a lesson well retained and applied to the letter by our activists.
While we keep our secrets
buried deep within us, they display them. They choose themselves. Lingual
bifurcation, implants, eye and face tattoos and the removal of body parts with
no possible return. What is done is done.
Then their body reveals itself to us, as a warning call. The result is striking and disturbing, which questions us about the deep reasons that led them there. What do we call this display? Perhaps a way to externalize their soul, to make their deep troubles visible, aligning it with themselves.
Whether they are men or women,
they invite us to look at them; better, to scrutinize them, to read every
detail of their meticulously worked bodies and forcing us to pause as we would
in front of a painting in a museum. They look at us directly and seem to tell
us: And now, can you see me? Do you accept me as I am? In our troubled times,
talking about difference is commonly accepted. A tap of lukewarm water where
good feelings trickle down to form a calm river of banality. It's easy and
reassuring. But faced with the images of Denis Rouvre, we move to a salutary
reassessment. Accepting what Bboy or Mistica offer, for example, forcing
ourselves to question this very notion because of their extreme approach. “I am
another one.”
“If we accept their
difference, we are able to accept all others.” says Denis Rouvre. This new aesthetic
radically challenges our prejudices. Dying to be reborn, Rouvre offers us an
ode to life.
Source: JJ
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