IKÉ UDÉ ___ Beyond Decorum

MAK Gallery (basement) MAK – Austrian Museum of Applied Arts
Stubenring 5, A-1010 Vienna
13 December 2000–4 February 2001

On the occasion of the opening of the exhibition on December 12, 2000, the artist’s ‘Beyond Decorum Fashion’ will be presented in the MAK-Main Hall. The artist’s photographic interest in the female body is revealed in the series ‘Uli’ (1995–2000), which is based on uli, a traditional Nigerian form of body painting as well as on surrealists’ photographic strategies. The series of photographs titled ‘Cover Girl’ shows faked covers of international magazines, like ‘Vogue’, ‘Harpers Bazaar’, or ‘House Beautiful’, displaying the artist or his models perfectly styled in staged poses. Moving non-Caucasians into the center of attention, Iké Udé epitomizes the stereotypical presence of pale-skinned people in magazines incorporating the world of fashion, life-style, and luxury and reflecting a narcissist obsession with the body.