Hannah Villiger
Skulptural 1995-1997
Swiss artist Hannah Villiger (1951-1997) trained as a sculptor but expressed her artistry through photography. In the early 1980s, her own body became the central theme of her work, appearing fragmented and distorted. Villiger developed a distinctive approach using Polaroid shots, which she enlarged to about one square meter (40 x 40 inches). By circling around her body with the Polaroid camera, she utilized the medium's "blindness" to redefine the structure and volume of her body parts. This first international monograph, complete with a catalogue raisonné, positions Villiger as a pioneering figure for contemporary artists exploring self-representation. Claudia Spinelli's essay delves into Villiger's personal and artistic evolution, examining the vital connection between her life and her work. Griselda Pollock's analysis focuses on Villiger as both a woman and an artist, emphasizing the visionary aspects of her creations while addressing the challenges she faced in a patriarchal visual culture. David Levi-Strauss reflects on the complex interplay between sculpture, photography, and the human body in Villiger's work, noting that her bold formal concepts and innovations remain remarkably relevant today.
