Posing
Marenka Gabeler

Posing is based on a project that started in London called ‘the school uniform’. Aa an art experiment and performance I dressed up as a schoolgirl for a whole year. This provoked many reactions and questions from the English public. Questions were raised about topics like identity, fetishism, paedophilia, social behavior patterns and reality. I observed the reactions to my appearance, and my own reactions to my surroundings. The results were collected and translated into visual works. The idea for this book came from the call-girls cards in English telephone boxes, on which the girls all pose differently. The poses in this book are very much like those on the cards, and proceed from the same atmosphere. The model is wearing a Japanese school uniform, in a reference to a country that is famous for cherishing its school uniform culture. The ambience of the photos is made more private by the fact that the model is holding a schutter release.