From September 9 to November 29, the exhibition Power to the Models – Curated by Jan Hoek can be seen in the Stedelijke Museum Breda. In this new exhibition, photographer and curator Jan Hoek radically reverses the balance of power between photographer and model. Not the photographer, but the model determines the image.
Jan Hoek examines the position of the photographer and questions it. Power to the Models makes you think about power:should it lie with the photographer, or with the people he or she photographs? The exhibition shows a stimulating alternative to current practice. The models escape stereotypes and prejudices. They show what it means to be yourself.
Jan Hoek (1984) asked eleven people from different backgrounds to have themselves photographed in the way they wanted. The choice for the photographer, the location, decoration, make-up and presentation form are entirely up to the model. Hoek is the curator of the project, but the ideas of the models are decisive. The models are:Baqteria, Bruin Parry, Chiara Bardelli Tonino, Dick de Koning, Hatti Rees, Ismail Ilgun, Jyoti Weststrate, Lotte van Eijk, Mohan Verstegen, Sylvana Simons and DJ Tiësto.
We are used to the photographer determining the conditions for a fashion shoot or news report. Most images in the media – whether they are of slum dwellers, sex workers, supermodels or politicians – are taken by photographers from the Western world. But that perspective is starting to change. This change is part of a social and political discussion about power and diversity:who decides who comes into the picture, and in what way? Because the photographer's gaze is decisive, these images can be role-confirming or stigmatizing. They are often at odds with the individuality of people. To break through that, Jan Hoek asked people who do not fit into a box to take matters into their own hands.
For Power to the Models you must reserve an entrance ticket in advance. You then have to choose the date and a start time. You can do this from 1 September via Stedelijkmuseumbreda.nl.
