Secrets

‘Every­thing in the world is about sex, except sex. Sex is about pow­er.’ So said Oscar Wilde. But pow­er can man­i­fest itself in many ways. With the Dan­ish pho­to­graph­ic duo, Vestholm, pow­er rests in the realm of the imag­i­na­tion – undoubt­ed­ly the most eroge­nous zone. Just as we eat first with our eyes, so arousal begins with an image. Mar­i­anne Vesterled and Tue Holmgaard’s image world is mys­te­ri­ous and seduc­tive, though their eroti­cism is under­scored by dark humour and ele­ments of the sur­re­al. This, their first book, is an invi­ta­tion to a pri­vate per­for­mance. A sto­ry is unfold­ing, but each frame rep­re­sents just a frag­ment. As Diane Arbus observed, ​‘A pho­to­graph is a secret about a secret. The more it tells you, the less you know.’

Tue Holm­gaard (b. 1971) and Mar­i­anne Vesterled (b. 1975), the artists known as Vestholm, demon­strate the cre­ative, artis­tic and intel­lec­tu­al pos­si­bil­i­ties to be found in part­ner­ship, trust and love. They met in mid-life and began to explore a mutu­al inter­est in the com­plex ter­rains of seduc­tion and pas­sion. With Tue behind the cam­era, and Mar­i­anne in char­ac­ter, their cre­ative instincts mesh to form a sin­gu­lar voice. 

John Hirschfeld is the nom de plume of an oxy­moron­i­cal­ly described adven­tur­ous Amer­i­can. He has immersed him­self in art, eroti­cism and aggres­sive doubt for six decades. His life’s work can best be under­stood as try­ing to tell peo­ple things they don’t want to hear in a way that they can hear it.

‘It is our hope that Secrets will give rise to reflec­tion and ques­tions. That the bound­aries between the beau­ti­ful and the ugly, the vir­tu­ous and the wicked, the inno­cent and the guilty will be expe­ri­enced as unclear and unset­tling. Or, bet­ter still, as nuanced and mys­te­ri­ous. It is in these spaces, where we lack sol­id ground beneath our feet, that the seeds of play and growth are to be found.’ – Mar­i­anne Vesterled and Tue Holmgaard

‘Ques­tions raised; no answers pro­vid­ed. Who is dom­i­nant, who is sub­mis­sive? Who is in con­trol: does it mat­ter? A ren­dezvous awaits at the top of the stairs.‘ – Chas Ray Krider