The fetishisation of the word “lesbian” has become problematic for me. With the label I have given myself, I have now to live to a certain standard that corresponds to the word lesbian. There are many questions surrounding my sexual identity that I cannot answer but one thing I am certain of is that sexuality is fluid. 

While researching the topic of sexuality I looked at texts that questioned the ideas around queer identity such as Gender is Burning by Judith Butler. In the text she discusses the fetishisation of lesbians and how heterosexual discrimination regards them as faking their sexuality because they hate men. Movies such as “Paris is burning” displays how the LGBTQ+ community can become like a family but can also be toxic in their ideas of gender and social norms. 

An artist that has really inspired my work is Sarah Lucas. My work “fluid” was heavily inspired by her use of taboos and strong imagery of sexuality in her work. Taking back the use of bodies and nudity in work doesn't necessarily imply sexualisation. 

My work is about being vulnerable and tries to break the taboos around sex and identity. It tries to break the social norms around lesbians, labels and how sexuality is on display. 

I used sound in my work to create an emotion and a heightened sense of being in a private space. Using cardboard as a material was manageable and easy to manipulate or change, much like the idea of sexuality. By hanging figures of the body from the ceiling “adult crib” these objects became like a child’s mobile. Using my own body as a medium to create work, I revealed my vulnerability while taking back the use of a woman's body in artworks. Inspired by artists like the Guerilla Girls, I wanted to use my body as a powerful way to protest against the sexualisation of a woman's body even when it's not in a sexual position. Nudity is natural much like the need for affection or sexuality. 

Lines have been crossed and hard discussions have been had. But one thing I know for certain is sexuality is fluid and there's no need to put yourself in fixed categories to please other people. 

2005

the idea around how text can change the narrative of an image or can imply a meaning to the pices that the viwer would see through the artist eyes

 

"Since the beginning of her career in the 1970s, Annegret SOLTAU has championed an experimental approach to art, challenging the conventional notions of representation through performance, photography and collage. While the focus of Soltau’s work never ventures far from the female body and its bodily processes, often incorporating images of herself, at the heart of her practice is an inexhaustible search for identity and meaning."

The idea of looking into history of witches or phyicals

The idea of looking into history of witches or phyicals

2017

C-type / giclee / Duraclear prints, paper mache rock, lamps, wood, cement, tripod, rope, video projection, metal  poles, tapes, 35mm slide projector, clips, wire, photography studio lamps,  live performers

the idea of placing a body into a wprk that is already printed.

The work is based around pairs of antonyms forming conventional binary oppositions such as "life" and "death". For each pair of antonyms a thesaurus was used to build a chain of synonyms to bridge the gap between them. Starting with one word the process was repeated until its antonym was suggested by the Thesaurus. 
This is an interactive space where you can select any line at anytime to hear Niall de Buitlear say each word in that circle.

A Body No More is a collection of work that includes video, a collection of polaroid’s and still images.  

 

The work relates to a body, a body that is objectified and sexualized because of their gender and sexual orientation. A body that is not seen as a person but an erotic fantasy. 

 

A polaroid is a single-use item. It cannot be reproduced or manipulated and still be the same as the original. The image it contains is the truest form.  

 

The polaroid itself becomes an object to marvel at. The context can be given but often not. When a close-up of a body part is taken it would be hardly possible to know what body part this is.  

 

A fold in your arm can be seen as a crease in your cleavage.  

 

A Body Inhabiting a space. 

  

The surrounding area around the polaroid changes the context of the image.  

 

A mapping of the body, a representation of my mind, and an outdated outlook on the female role.  

 

I was heavily inspired by queer women in history. Their own achievements and works are overshadowed by the characterization of their sexual identity. In “A Body No More” I used "women” a poem was written by Natalie Clifford Barney as she describes her lust for women and the beauty of women.  

 

Artist such as Ana Mendieta, Sarah Lucas, Adrian Piper, and Nan Goldin inspired and Enlighted my work. Their work being venerable and showing how a body can be displayed and inhabited a space, all the while speaking to the idea of sexuality, femininity, and protest to the objectification of a body.  

 

A body should be celebrated and supported. A body should not be objectified and used for egos.