The exhibition “FACELESS part I”, opening at freiraum quartier21 INTERNATIONAL/MQ on July 3 at 19:00, presents contemporary works from the worlds of art and fashion in which faces are hidden, transformed, or masked. In addition to some one hundred works by artists including Marina Abramović, Thorsten Brinkmann, Asger Carlsen, Shahram Entekhabi, David Haines, Ren Hang, Ute Klein, Nienke Klunder, Manu Luksch, Slava Mogutin, Mustafa Sabbagh, Jan Stradtmann, and Levi van Veluw, the show features masks by designers like Maison Martin Margiela, Jun Takahashi for UNDERCOVER, and Katsuya Kamo for Junya Watanabe’s COMME des GARÇONS.

UNDERCOVER AW 2006/2007, Collection "GURUGURU"
For artist Bogomir Doringer (SRB/NED), curator of the exhibition together with Brigitte Felderer from the University of Applied Arts Vienna, the exhibition was chiefly inspired by the sociopolitical consequences of 9/11. As the value of facial identifiability has risen, abstracted forms and representations of faces have become increasingly common in artistic production. Bogomir Doringer, for one, has been exploring the theme of facelessness in fashion and art for years. “Our unstable identity yearns for a return to the mask,” he says. “Like in times past, we are attracted to wearing masks as a form of protection or camouflage, as a prop, or just for entertainment.”
“The grotesque faces the media bombards us with not only affect our sense of self, not only confront us with unequal reflections, but also ensnare us in excessive self-control,” says Brigitte Felderer. “They have long since left marks that are indelibly engraved in the almighty web. Eternalized in the book of faces, we become findable, identifiable. Ultimately, all our projections and desires are revealed, and worse yet are divulged to entities of control both legal and secret. We emerge and can never disappear from view again. ‘FACELESS’ explores the various strategies and projects of revolt and self-empowerment in the face of these overpowering standards we can never satisfy.”

Bryce from series “Big Rock Candy Mountains” (c) Nienke Klunder
German artist Thorsten Brinkmann is always faceless in his self-portraits. For his photographs, which in color, pose, and composition are reminiscent of classic portrait painting, he puts together used everyday objects, discarded furniture, and household detritus as objets trouvés.
Conversely, a public persona like Marina Abramović attempts to relativize her high recognition value in photographic self-portraits. Frank Schallmaier makes collages from photos that he finds on social networks and online dating sites for gay men: they show people who present themselves without making their faces in any way recognizable. Hester Scheurwater’s photographic works examine the media representation of women as objects of desire. In Ute Klein’s photographs the bodies of lovers melt into temporary sculptures. Nienke Klunder’s self-portraits parody the trivial omnipresence of erotic images, while Jan Stradtmann’s photographic works are literally characterized by a loss of face.
In avant-garde fashion, masking has long been a popular device for erasing the individuality of the wearer. “FACELESS” shows mask creations by labels like Maison Martin Margiela, Gareth Pugh, Viktor & Rolf, and Bernhard Willhelm. Plus, for the first time in Austria, works by artist and designer Jun Takahashi for the Japanese fashion label UNDERCOVER will be on view, as will creations by stylist Katsuya Kamo for Junya Watanabe’s COMME des GARÇONS.
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