Jemima Stehli

Jemima Stehli has taken up the position of the stripper in her photographs, whilst also locating questions of power in the artworld within a voyeuristic framework. In her series Strip (1999) she stands with her back to the camera, in front of a seated male, identified only by his job title, for example, ‘Critic’, ‘Writer’, ‘Curator’ or ‘Dealer’. A long cable release is visible in the male’s hand and in each photograph Stehli is in a different state of undress; caught in the act of stripping. The precise moment the photograph was taken during this private strip is controlled by the seated male, his power doubled through the status of his role in the artworld. And yet, he is the pawn within Stehli’s game. It is she that has created the scenario, it’s her concept, her brain, her skill and her body being displayed. She is active. The seated male is unable to not look, he must play the stooge. It is his level of satisfaction or discomfort that we see in the photograph. Is that us, the viewer looking at ourselves?