Lotta de Beus

Step into my office, please
2015
Still video presentation

Lotta de Beus (1974) is a Dutch painter based in Amsterdam. Her work is characterized by a specific use of dark and light and the use of multiple layers. These two elements have both a figurative and literal place in her work and make the work fit very well into Dutch traditional painting.

In her current art project PORNOSEKSLIEFDE Lotta confronts herself with shame and discovers the diversity of the subject. Nowadays, how does love relate to sex and sex to love? What have the developments been since the sexual revolution and the first feminist movements? What do women experience and what consequences does this have for the experiences of men? And vice versa? Are there still any boundaries and taboos, and where do these lie?

The video presentation Step into my office, please, which was inspired by a visit to the film set of feminist porn director Erica Lust, plays with these boundaries and taboos. Lotta uses the graphic form of Shunga, Japanese erotic prints, to visually show that porn can either be seen as ‘flat’ or as a reflection of the diversity of sexuality in our society. What is real? Boundaries seem to be dissolving. Monogamy and faithfulness are terms that are stretched more and more. Where does domination start and submission end? Men become women, women become men. Not only in behaviour but also in gender.

www.lotta.nl
Step into my office, please
2015
Still video presentation