In front of the mirror, our bodies often appear as familiar landscapes. What happens when we let go of what we think we know and see them instead as shapes? Dutch photographer Viviane Sassen and Fräulein Magazine are inviting you to this reimagination with The Body as Sculpture, opening at Fotografiska Berlin on March 7, 2025.
Viviane Sassen introduces “The Body as Sculpture“ at Fotografiska Berlin
vor 4 days
Sassen has long challenged the conventional gaze. Growing up in Kenya, she observed bodies that did not conform to Western beauty standards. This early perspective permeates her work, where bodies are not passive subjects but active elements, molded and fragmented into new visual languages.
In a male-dominated industry, Viviane Sassen was expected to appear desirable and perform for the camera. Now, in The Body as Sculpture Sassen deconstructs the human form, bending expectations – sometimes literally.
“My experience of being photographed by men influenced my approach – I wanted to create a kind of sexuality that defied the male gaze. One that felt fractured and discontinuous. I’ve always felt like a shy exhibitionist, wanting to disappear while craving visibility.”
This duality between exhibitionism and shyness is clearly visible in her work, where bodies exist as compositions of light, texture, and movement rather than objects for the voyeuristic view. Sassen asks us to reconsider how we see – not just others, but ourselves. Can we unlearn the limitations imposed on our own reflections?
At Fotografiska Berlin, visitors are invited to step into this world of reimagination. The exhibition space becomes a playground of perception, a place to move beyond rigid ideals and embrace the body in all its endless possibilities.
Fräulein Magazine as a media partner for this exhibition embraces artists like Viviane, redefining the female picture through artistry. See Viviane Sassen: The Body as Sculpture from March 7 to June 8, 2025, at Fotografiska Berlin.
Image 1: © Viviane Sassen, Self-portrait, from the series Self-portraits, ca. 1994
Image 2: © Viviane Sassen, Bron, from the series Venus & Mercury, 2019
Image 3: © Viviane Sassen, Cadavre Exquis #7, from the series Cadavre Exquis, 2020
Image 4: © Viviane Sassen, Eudocimus Ruber, from the series Of Mud and Lotus, 2017
Image 5: © Viviane Sassen, Hannibal, from the series Venus & Mercury, 2019
Image 6: © Viviane Sassen, HCG, from the series Of Mud and Lotus, 2017
Image 7: © Viviane Sassen, Juno, from the series Modern Alchemy, 2022
Image 8: © Viviane Sassen, Marte #02, from the series Larvae, 2014
Image 9: © Viviane Sassen, RX, from the series Modern Alchemy, 2022
Image 10: © Viviane Sassen, Self-portrait, from the series Self-portraits, ca. 1994
Image 11: © Viviane Sassen, Self-portrait, from the series Self-portraits, date unknown
Image 12: © Viviane Sassen, Sirin, from the series Modern Alchemy, 2022
Image 13: Viviane Sassen, 2023 © Keke Keukelaar
