Elina Broterus was born in Helsinki, Finland in 1972 and live and works between Paris and Helsinki.I have decided to focus on two of her series of work. Firstly I looked at 'The artist and her model'. This series of work combines landscape, self and double portraiture. I found this intriguing as I started my research by looking at her early work that consists of mostly self portraits.
As her work developed over time Brotherus started using an increasing number of other models. In her image 'Couple in the mountains' from 2007 there are two figures presented, one of herself and the other a man. She had developed an interest in the way an artist looks at a model. This is referred to as the 'artist gaze' which Brotherus saw as having no gender but but a purely neutral connection. In her double portraits such as this one she tries to make this gaze visible. This would explain why the models in the image are both 'gazing' in the same direction as if it is a shared experience. Although neither figure would appear connected to each other the mimicking of their direction and focus makes them seem as one. This illusion is intentionally created by the photographer as she wished to portray a 'double identity'. This is inspired by her previous work where the 'artist and model have often been one of the same'.
The pastel colour palette is consistent throughout the image which is even true of the dark mountains as the mist contributes to softening the colour. I think that this has been done to neutralise the image so that the audience's attention is not drawn to either the figures or the landscape but the relationship that they have with each other.
Within the same series is the image 'Maja Desnuda' from 2008. This photo is very different but has distinctive qualities that are similar. Both locations were carefully selected by Brotherus as she looks for what she feels we lack in everyday life which are calm, wide spaces, surprise and veritable solitude. This is her reasoning for photographing herself in locations that are uninhabited and open. To me this shows an element of self discovery to photograph ones self in various locations. There is also an importance to her being nude as it refers back to her pulling away from the way in which we are expected to present ourselves to each other within everyday life. It is as if because she is actually standing in the water that they are connected and by wearing clothes she would be drawing a man made aspect into the image, therefore giving the image a different meaning.
In the majority of her photos combining people and landscapes the models have their backs to the camera. This is not the case in this images as she has a direct intimacy with the camera. I feel this links to the concept of connection through 'gazing' which was used in 'Couple in the mountains'. Her gaze being directly towards the camera is very significant as it causes the audience to stare straight back at her. This leads me back to my theory of self evaluation and discovery as Brotherus is both the photographer and the model so it is as if she is looking at herself.
The second series that I looked at was 'The new painting'. An image that i found most intriguing was 'Nu endormi' from 2003. She used large format photography and generally has a contemporary style and yet this image is very heavily inspired by traditional painters. Brotherus has a keen interest in art history and some of her images have a strong link to the romantic landscape painter Casper David Friedrich. This source is clearly visible when you compare Friedrich's 'Water above the sea frog' and Brotherus's 'Der wanderer III''.
Friedrich also paints vast landscapes similar to that in 'Nu endormi' however I think the inspiration is mostly drawn from classic figurative painting as a whole.Brotherus has an interest in the relationship between photography and painting but is quoted saying 'photography is unlike painting in its direct link to reality' and describes it to be its 'enchantment and its curse'. This is relevant to her work as she does not wish for the audience to ask who? or where? but to focus on the subject matter that she is trying to portray in her visual choices.
In this image the point is not who the figure is but how her relaxed position on the floor shows the appreciation of solitude and peace that is brought by the surroundings. That is what I enjoyed about this image as there is no hidden political message to be found but simply shows a beauty in escapism.
