Brändström & Stene, Stockholm: Charlie White (12/10-19/11)

Criminality, violence, and the voyeur are all present in Charlie White’s latest exhibition "Everything is American". Images from art history, the evening news, the museum, are digested and expressed in the language of Hollywood. White, who is based in Los Angeles, is interested in the production of entertainment culture, a culture which seems to define "us" (Americans). White claims that "Hollywood is a representation of America".

White views himself as a film director as opposed to a photographer. Each narrative is constructed and then reduced to a single "film still". White employs actors and make-up artists, constructs sets, and with the help of a special effects team, creates images which merge the fantastic and the strangely erotic with everyday reality. Photoshop and special effects have distanced photography from its indexal nature. Consequently, White is interested in the lie that is photography.

In "Granddaughter" (2005) a young woman is formally depicted in the center of the print. She is a contrapposto Venus, her lips slightly parted, who stares dreamy-eyed at the viewer. Her fingers cling to the rind of a newly eaten melon and its remaining bits of pastel flesh. Her presence in the living room is titillating as her supple body is erotically decorative among the porcelain vases placed carefully on the fireplace mantel. White’s Venus remains aloof to the viewer or shall we say voyeur. She is fertility embodied like so many Venuses before her, and yet submissive and resplendent to the (male) gaze that consumes her image. The pornographic undertones of "Granddaughter" are not new to White’s oeuvre, as can be seen in earlier series such as "Femalien", which first appeared in the porn magazine "Cheri", and "Understanding Joshua". "Granddaughter" is unobtainable and echoes the sexual frustration mixed with fantasy present in much of White’s work.

Across from "Granddaughter" is "Champion" (2005) which references the aftermath of David slaying Goliath. David, a budding youth, newly masculine, his large hands and feet betray the awkwardness of his pubescent state, gazes out at the viewer in wonderment and confusion at his defeat of Goliath. Homoerotic he stands sculpted between two ionic columns in a domestic "temple" complete with parquet flooring. And in true Hollywood style, David grasps the photorealistic head of the giant Goliath, his blood forming a small pool on the floor. "Champion" relates the timeless (male) coming of age story. White acknowledges that much of his work is concerned with the identity of the American male, and the frustration caused by societal pressure for material success and sexual prowess.

"Homo Habilis" (2005) depicts a hominid. The scene is reminiscent of an early 20th Century diorama with the pedagogic undertones of the archaeological museum. Is White patronizing us? The Darwinian creature grasps a bit of flesh in its hands. On the ground lies a pile of meaty remains. "Homo Habilis" has only primal needs, and is more animal than human, an interesting juxtaposition to "The Americans, US Armed Forces" (2005).

"The Americans, US Armed Forces" could have just as well been a snapshot from Iraq. Two armed soldiers in desert fatigues converse. One soldier, who is crouched down against a wall, looks up at another soldier. An awkward moment, as the standing soldier appears to fiddle contemplatively with his hands. The soldiers are not at attention, but appear relaxed and even vulnerable.

There does not appear to be any obvious manipulation of "The Americans, US Armed Forces" as in "Champion" or "Homo Habilis", so what is the "truth". As for myself, the image brings to mind Colin Powell’s presentation to the UN Security Council. Saddam Hussein’s advisor Gen. Amer al-Sa'adi, proclaimed that the presentation was a "typical American show complete with stunts and special effects". But "we" believed. White too is playing upon this belief in a photographic truth, while constructing narratives which either reveal or choose to hide their fabrication. Technicolor memories merge with personal ones creating new realities. White has gone far beyond the authenticity of the photographic image, and instead utilized all the spectacular implements of Hollywood to provoke his audience.

Adress: Hudiksvallsgatan 6

Med denna text introducerar vi en ny skribent, Michelle Roy. Hon är en amerikansk konstfotograf som flyttade till Sverige för 5 år sedan. Michelle tog sin Kandidatexamen i fri konst vid University of Georgia innan hon flyttade till Sverige. Sina studier fortsatte hon med konstvetenskap vid Södertörns högskola, och hon har nyligen avslutat avlagt sin Magisterexamen i International Curating vid Stockholms universitet. Michelle kommer att skriva på engelska, som hon föredrar när det gäller att uttrycka sig i text.