His deformed nudes are the result of a rather destructive creation process, the carvings and scratching in these images are revealing the darker side of this photographer. He uses the term ‘abuse’ and maybe that’s a proper description, but Philippe Breson does not abuse the women, but the images that represent them. Although the Stigmatized nudes are maybe his most remarkable work, he also has a large collection of formal nudes and beautiful sensual portraits.
I really have the tendency to label his work ‘Psychological portraits’, mainly because his work brings up all kind of personal, even spiritual, questions. The destruction of the women’s body, their beauty and the deformed ‘intuitive’ rebuilding must be a rather heavy creative experience. This reminds me of the work of the artist Nick Kushner who uses his own blood to create his drawings. He believes in the strength of cathartic and devastating occurrences and the capability of the artist to transform them in to beautiful things. I guess this ‘cathartic concept’ applies to the work of Breson as well.
One of the images that really scares the shit out of me, I also think it’s stunningly beautiful, is the first one in the gallery. Somehow this image bundles psychological strength and the more formal aspects of image creation in an excellent way. Looking at the Nude woman, with the heavy distortions, makes me sad, afraid, but it makes me feel and reflect. And that’s in my opinion the true purpose of art.
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