Oiko
Petersen
Guys from Poland with Love
„Photographs from
the « Guys. From Poland with love » series present various
incarnations and types of Polish men. (...) The artist plays with
photographic and gender conventions, coming up with seductive images
that attract attention and provoke to take a closer look. (...)
« Guys. From Poland with love » by Oiko Petersena are
the most joyful postcards from Poland, full of positive energy. The
artist alludes to the phenomenon of the Polish plumber, oversteps
advertising standards and totally changes the stiff model of masculinity
by presenting the abundance of roles and images associated with it.”
(Pawel Leszkowicz, Ph.D., the Institute of Art History, Adam Mickiewicz
University, Poznan).
The project was inspired by certain problems some people have with
the plural form of « gay ». A word « gejowie »
(~ gays) has been coined – a word that shouldn’t be used
according to the rules of Polish grammar - and while it is difficult
to find the exact equivalent in English, one immediately thinks of
the ambiguity around the terms « homosexual » and «
homosexualist ». Petersen uses the word « gejowie »to
describe a separate social group that has little or nothing to do
with the gay community. They become the main characters in his quasi-documentary
project on different models of manliness. His photographs are an attempt
at deconstructing the perception of gays and present men of different,
not necessarily homosexual, identities.
Oiko Petersen (born 1983) – a young Polish artist who only started
his adventure with photography 18 months ago and yet had tremendous
success wih his first exhibition „Guys.From Poland with love.”
It was presented at the 6th Photo Festival in Lodz. He was also one
of the 15 nominees for the Photo Poland project prepared with the
Mickiewicz Institute. There is a strong connection between Petersen’s
photos and his other passion – theatre. For the artist they
both mean creating alternate worlds, changing actors into models,
evoking clear, precise emotions.
So far his works appeared in „Foto”, „Press”,
„Secesja”magazines and in daily newspapers.
