The Great Ephemeral Skin

Under the titles The Great Ephemeral Skin, Hadassah Emmerich (Heerlen, 1974) presents a new series of works whose central focus is the female body as object. Body and identity, the sensory and the sensual, the commodification of the erotic and the exotic: these are frequently recurring themes in Emmerich’s work. The sensuality of her painting resides not only on the surface of the (erotic) image but also in her refined use of colour and technical execution. Since 2016, Emmerich has worked with a new painting technique, using stencils cut from vinyl flooring, which she covers with oil paint and then impresses onto canvas, paper or a wall. Referring to the visual language of advertising and Pop art, she creates images that both aestheticise and problematize the female body. She depicts the paradox of simultaneous attraction and repulsion, intimacy and cool detachment, seduction and critique. In this way, Emmerich succeeds in making the act of looking truly provocative.