Kathe Burkhart in Annie Gentils gallery
Equality as
a way
to
freedom
Kathe Burkhart (1958) is guest at the Antwerp Annie Gentils gallery for the third time. Photos and paintings depict a
world infused by the freedom of desire, pain and pleasure. She opposes the traditional gender roles, provides biting
commentary on a variety of issues and does not shun controversy.
Indra DEVRIENDT
‘Liz Taylor is my
double. She was
a phallic woman
with an appetite for sex,
drugs and alcohol who
went through men like crazy.’
"I'm for equality between men and women," says Kathe Burkhart resolutely. "I don’t like the clear distinction.
Women feel free, but that does not mean, unfortunately, that there is social progress. Our social development has
even regressed in the past thirty years. Women go to work, so why are they not paid as much as men?! The only
way to freedom is to achieve equality. I have no interest in giving birth or rearing children; I even think that it’s
a social and not a female issue.
Personally, I do what I feel I need to do and not whatever society imposes upon me. I believe in non-conformity.
My behaviour and the role I play do not conform to what is traditionally expected of me. I'm engaged with
gender issues and intersex. I’m preoccupied with the boundary between man and woman, and the mixing of
both, while society is becoming increasingly fixated on what a real woman or man is. Take, for example, the
Middle East. I hate it that the difference between the sexes is so extreme there."
As an artist she feels compelled to address these matters. "I want more people to be aware of it, and I hope for
change."
Reality
We talk in Annie Gentils’ gallery the night before the opening. Burkhart seems resolute, frank and somewhat
melancholy. Her language is as intense and provocative as her images. 'The Dead Celebrity and the Living Doll’
– the title of the exhibition – points to two series of presented works. The deceased celebrity Liz Taylor, the
Hollywood actress from the 60's whose portrait Burkhart has been painting for over thirty years now. The living
doll refers to her recent series of photographs ‘XY Portfolio’ depicting a transwoman lying on a bed tied like a
slave. “That's my ex-partner who has been living as a woman for fifteen years and who longs to transform into a
living doll,” says Burkhart. “Transsexualism is related to intersexuality. These are gender preferences that are
becoming more openly debatable. Yet we still don’t quite know how to deal with them.”
The images don’t conceal anything. They record daily reality without aestheticizing the subject. These photos
are a tribute to Robert Mapplethorpe’s homoerotic and sadomasochistic photo series ‘X Portfolio’ and the
sadomasochistically tinged work of Hans Bellmer and Unica Zürn. “I love their work because it comes from real
life,” says Burkhart. "Personally, I also draw on my daily life. I use personal matters, I change some of the
details and determine how much information I actually divulge.” That also goes for the Liz Taylor series, a
character which she sees as an ideal ‘container’ in which to reflect her life. “Taylor is my double. She was a
phallic woman with an appetite for sex, drugs and alcohol who went through men like crazy. Because she did not
meet certain patterns of expectations, she was gender non-conform.” In an uncompromising, bold and slightly
sarcastic manner, she expresses her views on human relationships and power relations in powerful images. The
portraits are imbued with desire, pain and pleasure. Burkhart depicts a woman with many faces: seductive,
servile, desperate, triumphant and rebellious. With epithets like ‘beftekkel’ (pussy licking dog) or ‘matennaaier’
(backstabber) - she divides her time between New York and Amsterdam - she infuses the images with extra
tension.
‘The Dead Celebrity And The Living Doll’ until October 31 at
Annie Gentils Gallery, Peter Benoit 40, Antwerp. Open Wed-Sat from
2-6 p.m.. www.anniegentilsgallery.com