As a capitalist medium, photography promotes consumption. It shapes our self-image and how we present ourselves to the world. The progressive commercialisation of human activities transforms our bodies and the way we dress them into spectacles for admiration, distraction, envy or disgust. And yet fashion and photography sometimes transcend the limitations of this aesthetic economy.
La vie de Camille by Sarah Stone proposes a refreshing counterpoint to stereotypical representations of the young body. It is playful and theatrical, but never loses its genuine interest in a fellow human. An ideal of freedom is encountered here, not a product.
Stone’s photography functions as a medium for self-discovery and positioning. Her artistic practice is often triggered by a fascination/identification with a strong female figure (her mother in ANNA and her Amsterdam roommate in La Vie De Camille). In Stone's portraits the protagonist's body remains largely defiant and autonomous.
Camille knows she is being watched and photographed, that her image can be shared. Yet she remains seemingly unmoved by the attention. The abstract audience does not exist. A sense of privacy remains, the rest of the world temporarily nonexistent. Camille's extensive wardrobe is being put to use to stage different incarnations of herself. Like an accomplished shapeshifter she is always in motion, elusive yet close.
She makes herself available but decides when and how close the camera may come. We don't find out much about her, but the proximity is fascinating. Camille remains untouched no matter how near we come. The safe space that the photographer and model have set up together and share with us is an inspiring resistance to the objectification and commodification of appearance.
Geert Goiris
