Biographie
Agata Wieczorek (1992, Poland) is based in Lodz, where she is currently completing her Masters at the National Film School. She previously graduated with honours from Strzeminski Art Academy in Lodz, where she studied graphic arts and painting. Wieczorek’s practice combines film, photography, and animation. Her work has been exhibited and awarded internationally, including at Obscura Festival of Photography, Penang (finalist); Warsaw Photo Days (Grand Prix); Organ Vida International Photography Festival, Zagreb, and GESTE Paris; among others. Alongside her artistic practice, she is also a writer and contributor for Lynx Contemporary.
Présentation
“Fetish of the Image” is a photography and video-based project that introduces a prevalent, yet surprisingly popular worldwide Masking fetish subculture. The project portray consumers of silicon female body masks, researches current shifts from binary understanding of gender and explores how increased globalization and interconnectivity does not necessarily lead to equal access and visibility.
Maskers are predominately men, whereas their practice is based on disguise that aims becoming someone else: a woman. The disguise is not just aimed at dressing up as a female, but literally becoming one – by entering a feminine body. Thus masking costumes – realistic, silicone masks and bodysuits – are called “second skins” as they imitate the human body.
Although the idea of entering someone else’s skin may seem merely an erotic extravaganza, Masking is rooted in an ideology far from simple entertainment. The community argues against common social and political conventions based on binary understanding of gender, identity and body. Masking is rooted in the idea that human identity consists of two genders instead of only one, whereas sexual identity is understood as a matter of individual choice in place of one bestowed or imposed by society.