Submission

The series depicts close-ups of men’s faces in different situations of submission—sex, wrestling, and hospitalization—bringing forward both their similarities and differences to reflect on power relations.

The paintings were inspired by readings of Michel Foucault and his concept of power relations, as well as by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel’s master–slave dialectic. The works reflect on how systems of knowledge define what is legal, healthy, and appropriate, and determine what we—or others—can or should do with our bodies.

Since the nineteenth century, homosexuality has been subjected to processes of rationalization within medical and juridical discourse. I juxtapose scenes from hospitals and scenes of sex. In both situations, the depicted figures are subjected to external powers and subordinated to institutional or relational control. This combination creates new associations and provokes reflection on these power relations.

Sleeping Beauty

The painting depicts a portrait of a man in a coma following an accident. His face is enmeshed in medical equipment: a tube inserted into his mouth, cables monitoring his condition, and a collar supporting his neck. Despite his critical state, the figure sleeps peacefully, evoking fairy-tale motifs such as Sleeping Beauty.

The series highlights the ambiguity between care and control: the medical apparatus simultaneously sustains life and enforces submission, rendering the body passive and completely subservient to external authority.