still from Heaven © Tracey Moffatt

Filmed from a distance, a lot of bodies are floating about in the strong waves. It´s not the moments of triumph for the surfers on Bondi Beach in Sydney, that we see. Strongly backlit, the men look more like small black corks, bobbing up and down. Surfers usually get changed alongside their cars. In this world reserved for men only, they are completely unembarrassed. Tracey Moffatt follows them with her camera, still at a distance, as they change in and out of their bathers, fumbling around with towels behind car doors or in car seats. But things change when the artist crosses the point where the voyeur can no longer act without being disrupted. When the men become aware of her presence, they are at first a little flattered and act up to the camera. But they become increasingly embarrassed the closer and more obstinate she gets. Suddenly a hand appears in front of the camera, a hand reaching out for a blue towel...

Welcome!

Helena Holmberg

This exhibition is part of the Index Projects series; small format exhibitions running parallel with our regular exhibition programme.