PERFORMANCE "M2F"

Performance presented within the solo exhibition M2F  (Male to Female) at the Gallery of Classical Photography, Moscow.

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The performance is grounded in the concept that nude art, by itself, is merely a form of artistic expression; it is primarily the viewer who ascribes hidden, ulterior meanings to the nudity.
On the wall hangs a large-scale image of a nude transgender woman. Devoid of context, the body is perceived as an aesthetic object: its proportions, the play of light, the texture of skin. Beauty exists only until categories are applied to it. Yet the viewer inevitably begins to classify — sex, gender identity, social status, moral boundaries. Each label destroys the immediacy of perception.

The black palm prints on the body symbolize the various dogmas and prejudices established in society. These ideas create a complicated series of paradoxes that interfere with one's ability to perceive and enjoy the nude form. The prints do not belong to the model; the viewers leave them. Each print is an act of appropriation: society imposes meanings upon the body that it does not inherently carry. Stereotypes contaminate simple, pure beauty, turning the body into a field for the projection of one's own fears and weaknesses.

During the performance, viewers are offered paint. Each person may leave a handprint on the image. This is not a decorative gesture but a mechanism of identification: the participant is forced to recognize themselves as part of the labeling system. The performance captures the moment when passive contemplation gives way to active violence against the image.
Thus, the work poses the question: is it possible to perceive the body outside a social context? And if not — who bears responsibility for the loss of an unmediated gaze?

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