Alex Brew
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Artist Statement
'Asking For It' is a work in progress. The project involves the artist approaching men in public places – outside offices, pubs and gentlemen’s venues often in London’s square mile. She confronts them with her camera and sometimes asks them to fully or partially undress in a more private space – in an alleyway, a car park, or back at their place or hers. She follows her fear into these situations of potential male violence and disapproval: situations where passivity, acquiescence and submission feel safer or more appealing than taking control. She takes note. What happens if a woman leaves the realm of object to put the focus on men and is not deferential, submissive or flirtatious either? What happens when male power is challenged? What happens to the woman challenging it and what happens to the man in the picture? The images show both domestic and public scenes. The nudity brings to mind a close relationship and yet these are strangers or acquaintances. The images confuse our understanding of domestic violence and rape in a culture that believes that the stranger is more dangerous than the man in your bed in spite of the statistics that show the opposite. Women (unlike men) are most likely to be attacked, raped or killed by a man known to her. The project illuminates the risks women take everyday and the problems of a culture that’s comfortable with those risks provided she refrains from challenging the man lying next to her. This leads to a spiral of violence against women but a violence that is pushed indoors.Artist Statement Resume Image Thumbnails Printable Version
