SITUATION #187

In his collage “Pinwall” which forms part of the series Looking for Love (1994–2011), Swiss artist Daniele Buetti exposes the ways in which the advertising and fashion industries frame the body, ultimately delivering a critique on our image-driven consumer society. Buetti punches brand logos on the back of advertisements and photo spreads from magazines, re-photographs them and assembles these fragments into a picture wall. “Pinwall” not only reflects on the commodification of the young, athletic, often female body, but also on the lack of critical reception of these media frames and the way this mutually reinforces gender stereotypes and ideals of beauty. Reminiscent of tattoos, Buetti’s violent manipulation of the immaculate advertising shots disrupts the beauty and body cult that still prevails today. This cult was especially fuelled by the emergence of the so-called supermodels and the increasing professionalisation of Photoshop in the 1990s. It is perpetuated by image practices on social media, finding its latest peak in the self-representation of influencers who increasingly stage the body as a brand and shape their identity through products.