Experience BODY HEAT, an exhibition about the interaction between body, climate, emotion and movement. From September 2 to October 27, eleven artists will show in Droog's gallery space how body temperature responds to our changing world. The physical and emotional aspects of heat are explored and celebrated through photography, sculptures, installations and multimedia.
Anger, love, desire, fear, passion, stress and shame interweave into an intense interplay that expresses itself in the body - in the blood, the skin, the heart and the tears. In a world that glorifies reason and rationality, our bodies are sensual and intuitive. We resonate with rhythms, vibrations and other souls: we sweat, we dance, we cry, we laugh.
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Through photography, sculpture, installations and multimedia, the artists and designers explore the tangible and emotional aspects of body heat: they delve into physiological responses, the invisible forces that drive us, and the outward expressions of our inner warmth.
The exhibition, curated by Yev Kravt, presents body heat as more than just a biological phenomenon; it becomes a powerful symbol for connection, emotion and identity.
Photography in BODY HEAT
The exhibition includes the works of the Armenian photographer Armen Ter-Mkrtchyan and the French photographer SMITH. Both artists approach the concept of body heat from a unique perspective, with photography playing a crucial role in making the invisible visible.
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Heliography of Armen Ter-Mkrtchyan
Heliography, the first method of "permanent" photography, takes its name from the Greek terms for sun (helios) and drawing or writing (graphein). Armenian photographer Armen Ter-Mkrtchyan makes his own camera obscuras and thus captures sunlight on film. Each image takes about thirty minutes, or sometimes even several hours, to become visible.
In these photos we see reflections of heat in places where people are standing; sometimes it is stronger, sometimes weaker, but buildings and nature are more clearly visible. Ter-Mkrtchyan's work explores the relationship between people and nature, people and architecture, and people and location.
Ter-Mkrtchyan uses burnt apricot and peach kernels as pigment, causing the images to slowly emerge. The deep, matte black tones contrast strongly with the silky white tones, creating an impressive visual effect. Just as memories change over time, so too does the saturation of these photos, reminding us of the transience that colors our existence.
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Thermal technology and thermal cameras
French photographer SMITH uses thermotechnology to show how our bodies radiate heat. With a thermal camera, SMITH captures the warmth that connects us as humans, regardless of our differences.
SMITH uses a thermal camera to capture the body heat of his subjects and convert it into the visible spectrum. The result is dreamy, ghostly figures reminiscent of laboratory images and new technologies that allow us to contact physically absent people through a screen. In these thermograms, absence and invisibility become tangible presences, embodiments of desire. The orange glow of an exposed neck reveals the memory of an embrace.
The exhibition BODY HEAT was on view at gallery@droog at Staalstraat 11, Amsterdam.
