Anatomy of Desire - Karine Laval

Anatomy of Desire engages with the performance of sexuality, identity, and desire, but also focuses on a notion central to photography and lens-based mediums in general: the gaze and other related questions such as seeing and being seen, revealing and concealing, voyeurism and exhibitionism, and the tension between private and public.

Mirroring the backbone of the series – essentially a set of instant snapshots taken to hold on to, Anatomy of Desire by Karine Laval takes a similar approach and offers the photos gathered in the box like a selection of rare, treasured memories rescued from oblivion. Each image is double-sided: on the front, a body’s postures and gestures radiate genuine openness and boundless intimacy, whilst on the back one finds blurred images akin to white noise. Nonetheless, the images on the reverse side are the pieces of a puzzle that will reward a diligent enquirer with a large-scale photo when in place.