Lot 90: Fiona Pardington Hostess gelatin silver print

Fiona Pardington Hostess gelatin silver print title inscribed, signed and dated 1993 verso 320mm x 260mm 'Hostess', is indicative to Pardington's early themes relating to perversity, deviancy and 'rituals' of the skin. The body is presented to the viewer, laid out and exposed. We are treated to a 'private viewing' of a much coveted and personal slice of skin - objectified for our pleasure. Pardington presents this androgynous image as a statement for breaking down barriers associated with gender politics. She skillfully navigates access and exploitation attached to the discovery of another human- at the core: skin. Notions of a caress, of love, intimacy and attachment between sexes emerge. We, as viewers are looking in, as if we too are the photographer- a voyeur -peering into a private affair. The subject is a stranger. We have no emotional involvement, yet does desire stir? Or, do we feel our power in this voyeuristic role has corrupted us, and we too have become the exploiter of a stranger, of an image, of a mirage? LH