Sydney-based photographers Lyn Balzer and Tony Perkins are taking part in an exhibition called Denim, “a material investigation into the use of denim in craft, art and design,” at Mr Kitly in Melbourne. I spoke to them about this and the rather arresting way they chose to photograph the completed works.
Millie Stein: Can you tell me a bit about the shots you took of your work for the show?
Lyn & Tony: For the Denim show, we wanted to create objects that you least expect to be made in denim. So we decided to create two masks woven from denim strips, recycled from denim jeans. Masks are usually used to hide or disguise [and] we wanted to contrast this by photographing them on an exposed naked body.
Millie Stein: Can you tell me more about your choice to make masks?
Lyn & Tony: Traditionally, masks had that interesting mix of something meant for entertaining and celebration that was also a bit terrifying.
We’ve been working on a project, photographing nudes of African women in Australia. Through that project we have become interested in traditional African art, particularly masks.
Tribal masks are made from commonly available materials, but become valued, spiritual objects through the transformation of the materials in the masks construction.
Drawing upon this idea, we wanted to use denim from discarded jeans, to transform fabric into “special” art objects. Also, masks always seem to make many people a little uneasy, something which we are quite happy to push.
Millie Stein: Denim as a material is so loaded with symbolism. It went from a very working-class material to one worn by sex symbols like James Dean and Marilyn Monroe (in her downtime). Did you draw on its history at all when coming up with your concept?
Lyn & Tony: Despite jeans and a t-shirt being the current “uniform” of western culture, the history of denim can be traced back to Africa. Africa was important to the development of the denim industry, as West Africa was the original source of indigo, used to dye the denim fabric. Many of the West African tribes traditionally used indigo to dye their own garments and their knowledge and skills were vital in the development of the industry.
Millie Stein: Masks and the naked body share a common trait of making people uneasy. One is used to cover up, one is completely exposed. Why do you think they unnerve people equally?
Lyn & Tony: Most of our work is about challenging the viewer, so combining nudity and masks kinda pushes it to the limit. Nudity is just one of those things that totally polarises people and always elicits a strong reaction – something which never ceases to amaze us, and something we can’t quite understand.
We love shooting models wearing masks, as the anonymity really helps the girls lose a lot of their inhibitions. Maybe it is this implied sense of absolute freedom that masks provide that a lot of people find unnerving.
Interestingly, in African mask culture, it’s believed that once the wearer puts on the mask they are considered to be no longer that person. Instead they are inhabited by the spirit of the mask and therefore may have a completely different personality!
Showing until August 21, 2011
Mr Kitly – upstairs 381 Sydney Rd
Brunswick, 3056
Melbourne, Australia
+61 03 9078 7357
Model: Rose @ EMG Models
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