Pez Hejduk
Pez Hejduk (1968 in Klagenfurt,
Austria, lives in Vienna) has been portraying her mother for many years. The photographs are a combination of
a realistic portrait of her and an exaggeration of her characteristic qualities by an ironic staging.
The exaggerated posings show that so called „feminine“ or “masculine” attitudes are an assimilation to cultural norms but no expression of the „natural“ gender identity. By exaggerating these attitudes the photographs evoke associations to drag-queens and drag-kings who reproduce typical clichés. So the nearness of the portrayed woman and transvestites question the borderline between normality and drag, between the embodiment of femininity and masculinity by women and men.
The exaggerated posings show that so called „feminine“ or “masculine” attitudes are an assimilation to cultural norms but no expression of the „natural“ gender identity. By exaggerating these attitudes the photographs evoke associations to drag-queens and drag-kings who reproduce typical clichés. So the nearness of the portrayed woman and transvestites question the borderline between normality and drag, between the embodiment of femininity and masculinity by women and men.