Cosmetic Bodies
Mixed media installation
3 videos, duration: 3 minutes each
Candy jars with hair
2025
Concept, photography, animation & design: Ben Petersen
Sound: Sven Templin
Hair reminds us of our animal heritage. But even today, humans are not truly naked: with the exception of the soles of the feet, palms of the hands, mucous membranes and lips, hair grows all over the body – more or less in varying amounts.
In the film work ‘Cosmetic Bodies’, the artist uses
his own body to examine the hairy regions. A completely unique
cosmos emerges as the artist allows the hairy parts to grow into new bodies.
In the tension between body, hair and gender, the power of diversity unfolds between beauty, standardisation, ugliness and being oneself.
The work intertwines the real and the digital. Hairy parts of the artist’s body were photographed and documented. With the help of image editing and animation software, these were altered and transformed into hairy creatures in animated video sequences. The hair that the artist removed from his body is stored in candy jars and is part of the video installation.
Supported by the Cultural Office of Hanover.
Über Ben Petersen
Ben Petersen
Lives and works in Hanover.
B.A. Graphic Design/Digital Media at HAWK Hildesheim.
He works interdisciplinarily at the interface of video and animation, drawing, installation, dance and performance art. In doing so, he combines these forms of expression into an open, experimental language of images and movement, exploring new forms and spaces of representation.
His work often focuses on the relationship between humans, the environment and nature. His works create space for the invisible, non-conformity and marginalised social positions – sensitive, poetic, often with a touch of irony and always with a keen eye for the overlooked. In doing so, he questions common norms and opens up alternative perspectives on what often lies hidden.
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