Artist 165
Chloe Rosser
Photography
Alienation from the self
Chloe Rosser is a photographic artist based in London who specializes in the medium of flesh through her lens.
“Photography is the only medium which allows me to sculpt with human flesh,” says Rosser, “the human body is the most intimately familiar thing to us. Seeing it in these strange poses affects you deeper than if you were to see a sculpture because it’s real, and you can imagine being it, and feeling what it feels.”
Rosser elaborates the origins of the project, “l had been photographing the body for a while, trying to abstract it in different ways. Then I shot an image which was just a torso, facing away from the camera, so its head and limbs were hidden. This photo was so different from what I had been making. It really struck me because you were looking at this truncated figure, yet you could see the whole of the body exactly as it was in that moment. You had the full view, but it was so surreal. From there I started building it.”
The contorted human bodies are the signature of Chloe Rosser’s Form series and transform something so familiar into something that is unexpected and uncanny, a kind of living sculpture.
Through these posed figures she addresses what she sees as an increasing alienation in the human condition, the separation of self from body.
Chloe Rosser explains, “The bodies are not digitally manipulated at all. I do some color and light correcting to the image overall, but the bodies are real. The surreal figure shapes are achieved through the poses, which take a lot of planning and figuring out.”
She aims to evoke the viewer into seeing something new in the human figure, and to look at it from a sculptural point of view.
Rosser discusses, “We all know our own body intimately, so then to see one presented like this, it affects you deeply. It's also interesting when you're able to look at a nude which is free from sexual suggestion. You get a new perspective.
Inclusivity is really important to me. I work with people of different skin tone, body shape, ages ranging from 20 to 70, sexuality and genders, including male, female, gender fluid and trans. I present them all equally in my images and I don't point out who is who, because when it comes down to it, we're all made of the same flesh and bone.”
The images are strange and hold an aspect of the cadaver, but they're also pushing for a positive outlook on the human body. They're a critique on how we treat the body, and an encouragement for us to be more accepting of our own bodies.
Do you see the cadaver or the living in this art?
Sources Consulted:
https://www.aestheticamagazine.com/profile/chloe-rosser/
http://museemagazine.com/…/woman-crush-wednesday-chloe-ross…
https://www.bjp-online.com/…/12/form-function-by-chloe-ros…/
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