Alienation Study, 2014. Photo series (Photo series 12 x 13.6 cm x 31.7 cm)
At the end of the 19th century, Austrian anthropologist Josef Szombathy (1853-1943) developed a series of ‚Anthropometric photographs‘. Depicting Viennese women in Pin-up like poses standing next to measuring instruments, the images contradict the usual visual language intended from this kind of study. In my series, I overlay Szombathy‘s photographs with standard anthropometric positions and mark the difference in the positions with a computer drawing program. By calculating the areas of divergence and transferring them into circle diagrams, my work addresses the theoretical implications of the metric reduction of the body. This is extrapolated in the modern individual by the ‚quantified self‘; self surveillance via machines or sensors on the body, computer programs, smartphone applications.
