Brief Moments
In her latest series of photographs, Jodi Bieber exposes the vulnerability of the male and his uncertain role in society, writes Oliver Roberts
FINALLY, a woman who appreciates the subtle artistry of a man sitting around in his underpants.
Rather than dismissing it as slobbery and worrying that his bare torso will sully the couch with sweat and tiny flecks of dead skin, Jodi Bieber has recognised male underpants-wearing for what it often is — an act of reflection, vulnerability and even despair — and captured it in a series of photographic portraits entitled Quiet.
“You hardly ever see photographs of men not performing,” says Bieber. “Usually the images of men on TV show them at war, or playing sport, running together in slow motion. I just thought I would show the quiet. Also, we’re more used to seeing women in their underwear, so men baring themselves in that way is not easy.”
Bieber, who won the 2010 World Press Photo of the Year for her image of the disfigured Afghan girl Aisha, previously worked on a project called Real Beauty, in which she captured everyday women in their underwear. But, she says, the only similarities between that project and Quiet are the aesthetics.
“Real Beauty is mostly about body shape and how media portray women. Quiet is about collaborating with each guy to try and find a quiet
Each man photographed was asked, ‘Who are you in the world?’
moment with him. Unless it’s an underwear ad, you’re not often going to find these pictures of men.”
The message in the images goes far beyond male contemplation. Bieber is convinced that male violence, rather than being inherent, is a kind of performance, played out as a result of society and media’s portrayal of male “norms”. This is especially relevant in South Africa, a land awash with damning statistics on sexual and domestic violence. However, instead of doing the obvious and photographing criminals or reformed offenders, Bieber purposely sought out “good” men, average specimens with jobs and wives and children, who are, in a sense, trying to dispel the darker notions associated with their species by being lovers and providers.
In the past, she has photographed men at war and gangsters. “I think I’ve avoided photographing men, to be honest,” she says. “I think in harder communities it is intimidating in a way because it can be quite macho. But what I enjoyed about photographing these men is that when you see men for who they are, when you see their vulnerabilities and complexes, it’s a beautiful thing. Men are quite protective of themselves, so just breaking through, opening the door and getting a glimpse of that vulnerability, that’s what I really like — when a man is just a person.”
Each man photographed was asked, “Who are you in the world?” Bieber says most men did not know what to say. Some even asked her for advice. “Everyone was different,” she says. “Some said they were a father, others said their profession, others said they were thinkers. Some were plain, others were more poetic.”
To find her subjects, Bieber put up posters asking for volunteers to pose in their underwear. Unlike Real
Beauty, in which she employed the same recruitment tactic and received floods of willing participants, the men for Quiet were slow in coming. Bieber eventually had to ask friends to ask their friends to ask their friends. In the end, she photographed just less than 40 men. The reluctance, it turned out, had
You think women are vain? Men are much worse
very little to do with men being too busy to participate or thinking the whole idea was a bit poofy.
“You think women are vain? Men are much worse,” says Bieber. “It was a total surprise. They would say things like, ‘Oh, I don’t like my tummy’, or ‘I’ve got these little pimples’, all kinds of things. I tried to relax them by telling them to imagine they were on the beach. What was interesting is that nearly every guy yawned at some point in the shoot, which is a sign of stress being released. Some guys fell asleep.”
Some men said yes, but their wives wouldn’t allow it. Bieber says the more powerful the man, the more reluctant he was to strip down to his Y-fronts. “I think the guy in a suit who is in a high position, he has a certain performance that he has to adhere to, and breaking that, or showing himself in another way, would not be acceptable in society.”
In these still, reflective images, Bieber also wanted to show how the roles men play in society are changing for the good. She uses the example of seeing many more men than before walking around holding their babies, apparently becoming increasingly in touch with their nurturing side.
The flip side to this “new” role is men in pastel-coloured shorts going to spas and lying about with soothing slices of cucumber on their eyes. So there’s confusion there for sure. Bieber acknowledges this, stating that it’s hard to say where men fit in these days. Is being a man about constantly adapting? Or is it about being better at the things that come naturally to us, bar the brutishness?
With plans to take this project to other countries, Bieber is still investigating that question. “But imagine having a little less pressure on all the things you have to be to be a man,” she says.
Quiet is on at the Goodman Gallery in Johannesburg from April 3 to 26. An exhibition of Jodi Bieber’s major works, entitled
Between Darkness and Light, will be shown at the Wits Art Museum from April 17 to July 20 2014.