DORIS BOERMAN
SAINT-MARTIN BOOKSHOP
BRUSSELS, MARCH 30 - APRIL 20, 2024
since I saw this exhibition
The image that comes back
to my mind
is that of walls
with visible pores
A plethora of holes
filled with a mixture
whose color is similar
but not quite the same
as the white of the paint
Like a foundation
reinforcing skin irregularities
rather than camouflaging them
And there are plenty of spots
in these second-floor walls
Teenage murals?
Vestiges of acne?
At irregular intervals
embedded plugs
emerge from these dilated pores
An in and out movement
like if the growing hairs
were forced back into orifices
after being transformed, dyed
braided, channeled and accessorized
Each mini quilt is unique
and bear witness of a thoughtful collection
of screw plugs, extensions
highlights and barrettes
These slightly miserable tufts
pop up as derisory
islands of indulgence
subject to fluctuating fashions
Islets that we nevertheless
take pleasure in detailing
as when the eye
lingers on the detail of a hairstyle
nails or make-up
What Doris Boerman
calls “Self-design as Sculpture"
from the title of her publication
We also remember a specialized vocabulary
hair donuts of the same platinum-blond
than the extensions
from which emerge straw-yellow hairs
with burnt caramel roots
lots of scrunchies, mini barrettes
and single plastic strass earrings
No generous mane here
only narrow locks
as if successive dyes
strong combing strokes
and chemical shampoos
had weakened the fibrous proteins
now bending under the accessories
Nothing and yet everything to do with
another work by Doris Boerman
“Lindy, Lindsy, Britney, Beverley”, 2012
currently on show in Liège
at the Biennale de l'Image Possible
An installation I've only seen in photographs
where four door-sized frames
are filled to their full height
by splendid synthetic hair curtains
in four colours
blond, brown, black and auburn
The title of this work
like the cheapness of the accessories used
by the artist
uncomfortably evokes for me
a partly racialized class reality
It's interesting, but
I wonder if I don't prefer
more recent titles
Grey nylon universal wall plug S5, brown
PVC tape, dark blond curly hair, stud earring
with salmon coloured imitation
diamond, 5 x 2.5 x 1 cm
Deliciously queer
Roshan Di Puppo