Fingerlocks
2020
Series of inkjet prints, dimensions variable
Commissioned by Survival Kit 11
Courtesy of the artist
The series of images Fingerlocks is based on self-defence manuals from the 1950s and 60s, which feature black-and-white photographs of well-dressed men and women engaging in demonstrations of various techniques for defending oneself from harm. Stripped of their original context, these images could be interpreted variously as depictions of fighting, dancing, or caressing. By re-enacting these scenes in domestic environments with different couples, including herself and her partner, and by asking her performers to switch back and forth between the roles of assaulter and victim, Goze emphasises the dual nature of intimate partnerships, which can be both oppressive and fulfilling. The images reflect on the relationships between care and violence, both physical and mental, and also touch upon the issue of domestic abuse within sexual relationships, questioning if home is always the safest place.
Artist’s Bio:
Evita Goze (Latvia, 1984) is an artist, writer and curator based in Riga, Latvia. Her practice is driven by her interest in the shifting boundaries between reality and fiction, and the personal and the political, and focuses on questions of identity, the body, and power relations between individuals and the state. Her primary medium of expression is photography, but she also uses text, vernacular images and found objects. She received a BA in Photography from the University of Brighton, UK, and an MA in Visual Communication at the Art Academy of Latvia. Her work has been exhibited and published in Latvia and internationally. Her most recent solo exhibition, On Guard, took place in 2019 at the ISSP Gallery, Riga.